


Sorting It Out

by Krashlyn



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:23:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2847587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krashlyn/pseuds/Krashlyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>multi-chapter fic. Angst to follow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"...I need some time to sort things out." Ali answered quietly after a moment.

Ashlyn just looked at her with a falling smile, not expecting that to come out of her mouth. She couldn't find the words to respond. She swallowed hard.

All her anticipation drained to heart-break when Ali said those words. She was expecting a simple "yes".

Ali noticed the change in mood.

There was silence until Ashlyn found her voice...

"Sort things out?" She asked. The hurt was apparent in her tone.

Ali sighed and sat down on a kitchen chair.

"Yea. On my own..." She said quietly, unsure what to follow that up with.

"You don't mean that." Ashlyn stated but it was more of a question. 

"I just need some time..." Ali said. 

Ashlyn swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath to calm her emotions.

"You let me know when you have everything 'sorted out'." She said bitterly and grabbed her keys as she headed out the door.

...

Ali found herself sitting in the same chair an hour later. She wasn't sure why she was so scared and insecure but she was.

...

Ashlyn drove around for a while before heading over to her apartment. A guest-house just a short drive down from the main house on the property. David, her landlord, waved as she went by and she put on a happy face for him. Only to let it drop the second she was out of sight.

She was absolutely aching from Ali's lack of decision. All signs pointed to yes... so why did Ali need time?

She called Ali as soon as she got in her house.

...

Ali's phone rang on the kitchen table and she knew who it was without even looking.

She let it ring.

...

Ashlyn didn't bother leaving a voicemail. She would talk to Ali tomorrow.

She walked upstairs to her bedroom and buried herself in bed for the rest of the night.

...

Ashlyn woke to someone knocking at her door at 8AM. She hurried down the stairs and swung it open, expecting it to be Ali.

It wasn't.

"Am I early?" Kelley looked at Ashlyn, who was still in her pajamas, and then at her watch.

"No, I..." Ashlyn tried to remember what Kelley and her had to do today. "I forgot we were going to CrossFit. I'm sorry."

Ashlyn rubbed her eyes and waved for Kelley to follow her in.

"You okay?" Kelley asked with concern as she closed the door behind her and followed Ash into the living room/kitchen.

"Ali and I had a fight... kind of." Ashlyn admitted and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"But you guys are okay, right?" Kelley asked.

"We will be." Ashlyn assured her.

"Want to tell me about it?" Kelley parked herself on the couch- proving CrossFit was no longer on the agenda.

Kelley was one of the few people who knew about Ash and Ali's "relationship". So Ashlyn knew she was a safe bet to talk to about it.

"I asked her to be my girlfriend..." Ashlyn started.

Kelley smiled. "Finally!"

"But she said she needed time to 'sort things out' before answering me." Ashlyn admitted sadly- she was embarrassed.

"What?!" Kelley yelled with a dropped jaw. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yea." Ashlyn commiserated.

"Ash, she loves you." Kelley tried to understand. They all knew they were perfect for each other.

"... I know."

...


	2. Chapter 2

Ashlyn called again that afternoon.

Ali found it so much easier to ignore the call then to deal with this right now.

She knew she would eventually have to call Ashlyn back but she just couldn't talk to her right now.

...

Ashlyn knew she was being ignored. She let it go for a bit, figuring Ali would come around or realize she was being a jerk.

She let her have time to cool down and sort out whatever it was she needed. She figured a day or two should be enough time for Ali to come around.

But then it went on for too long.

...

"Seriously?" Ashlyn shook her head with anger when Ali finally opened her front door.

Ashlyn had called twice a day for four days now and Ali hadn't answered. She resorted to going over there to make sure she was okay.

"This isn't fair, Alex." She pointed out.

Ali motioned for her to come in but Ashlyn stayed put.

"You can't just shut me out." Ashlyn sounded angry, but also defeated.

"So come in." Ali motioned inward again. She knew what Ashlyn meant but it was also a good way to get her inside.

Again, Ashlyn stayed put. Her eyes trained on Ali. And Ali looked exhausted. Like she hadn't slept in days. She also looked like she had been crying. 

Ashlyn softened up a bit.

"I thought we were good?" She asked innocently. She really was completely blind-sided by this whole thing. "Really good."

"We are!" Ali assured. She couldn't believe Ashlyn would second-guess that.

"I guess I just don't understand..." Ashlyn waited for Ali to give her something to work with. Anything.

"I just need time to weigh my options." Ali explained.

That only sparked Ashlyn's anger back up.

"Weigh your options?!" She asked with a furrowed brow. "Are you seeing someone else?" She asked, not sure what other options Ali had to weigh.

"What? No! Of course not!" It offended Ali that Ashlyn would even ask such a thing.

"Then what are you weighing? Am I not good enough for you?" Ashlyn asked accusingly. She knew it wasn't the case but she was so mad she couldn't help it.

"Stop!" Ali shook her head. They both knew that wasn't true.

"Then what is it, Al?" Ashlyn was near pleading, Ali could see it in her eyes.

"Just give me some time, okay?" Ali pled back. She was borderline upset.

Ashlyn couldn't believe this conversation was happening. Was Ali embarrassed to call Ashlyn her girlfriend? Was this just a physical thing for Ali? Was all of it a lie from the beginning? Ashlyn had enough.

"Sure. Take alllll the time you want." She said sarcastically and turned to leave. She couldn't be part of Ali's insecurity anymore. 

"Ash..." The brunette grabbed her wrist gently. "It doesn't mean we have to stop seeing each other." She pointed out, somewhat selfishly.

In Ashlyn's eyes, that's exactly what it meant.

"Well... excuse me if I don't really want to be near you right now." Ashlyn mumbled and pulled her arm from Ali's grasp before leaving.

Ali opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She felt bad- really bad. But she also felt like Ashlyn was being a baby. All Ali was asking for was a little bit of time.

If only she knew how much she was hurting Ashlyn.

...

They did continue to see each other, literally _see_ and only _see_ each other, and nothing more, when they went out with a group of people.

They were never very affectionate in public to begin with- its just not how they worked so no one thought it was weird they weren't close. Normally, the two of them kept their affection between themselves and both of them were fine with that. No one seemed to notice the problem.

Maybe someone would have noticed if they were around at the end of the night when Ashlyn made an excuse to go home, alone, every time. It seemed a little weird but totally plausible to everyone else. Everyone but Ali- she knew she was being avoided.

Otherwise, their issue went unnoticed by their friends...

And everything seemed to be fine...

Except Ali could get a little handsy with Ashlyn when she drank too much. And one particular night... Ali drank too much.

And Ashlyn could easily get jealous when she drank too much. And that same night... Ashlyn drank too much.

A few of the girls were in town for the weekend. Staying with Kelley. Everyone met out for the night.

Ashlyn tried to distance herself from Ali, which only made Ali want to be closer to her.

...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the drama begins...

Ashlyn was ordering another round for herself and Kelley when Ali made her way over.

Ali had seemed to miss her all night- no matter how hard she tried to be near the blonde. And right now, as the girl next to her at the bar chatted Ashlyn up, Ali decided was a good time to go over to her.

She just wanted to keep things going per usual, for now.

Ali's eyes lit up when the bartender handed Ashlyn two drinks, assuming one must be for her.

"Hey." Ali came up behind and put her hand on the small of Ashlyn's back.

Ashlyn felt the jolt of electricity, mixed with anger at that touch. Her eyes met Ali's but showed no emotion. Ashlyn had drank enough to convince herself she didn't care anymore.

Ali smiled when she saw the two drinks in her hands.

"Its for Kelley." Ashlyn put an end to that real quick.

"Oh." Ali tried to play it off like she didn't think it was for her.

She was believable. Her disappointment went undectected.

"Where have you been lately?" Ali pressed.

She sounded like an innocent, little kid. But her hand was now on Ashlyn's hip as she pressed closer. Beginning to claim her territory.

Ashlyn knew this was coming at some point.

"What? Around. I don't know." She gave her a vague answer.

She knew Ali was really asking why Ashlyn was avoiding her lately but she played dumb.

She continued.

"Technically we're not dating so... I guess that's none of your business." Ashlyn bit out.

"Ash..." Ali said pointedly and leaned into her and placed her other hand on Ashlyn's arm. She took a deep breath. "We should talk."

Ali had been thinking a lot lately. These past few days really cleared some things up for her. She missed Ashlyn every second of the day. She wished she could talk to her, cuddle with her, kiss her... all the time. Every story she told- was about Ashlyn.

She was in love with her.

"No..." Ashlyn shook her head plainly. "We shouldn't." She said and let it linger there for a second before pulling back and walking away from Ali.

Ali stood there, lost, Ashlyn always went with whatever Ali wanted. She always put Ali first. Until now. And Ali just stood there for a moment until Pinoe snapped her out of it, completely oblivous as to what had happened.

"Come out back with me?" Pinoe asked. "I need some air."

"Yea..." Ali said distractedly as she watched Ashlyn walk back to the group. "Let me get another drink first."

...

Pinoe knew nothing of the fight so she didn't think to ask if anything was going on. In her eyes, those two were madly in love and working on the transition from best friends to something more. They had been working on it for months now though.

Ashlyn was ready from day one to make it official. Ali was, apparently, slower to come around.

Ali decided to keep the details of the argument to herself. She didn't want to tell Pinoe, especially now, she just needed to talk it out with Ashlyn and clear it up. So she said nothing.

...

Ali watched through the window as Ashlyn seemingly didn't care and continued to have fun with their friends, like nothing was wrong.

She watched as the same girl from the bar before walked up to Ashlyn and started talking to her again.

She watched, what she assumed to be, Ashlyn flirting with her and it made Ali's blood boil.

How could Ashlyn tell her she didn't want to talk about things and then jump right into talking to another girl? In front of their friends. In front of Ali too.

She was so mad- she was about to go in there and give Ashlyn a piece of her mind when...

"Hey. Ali... right?" A good-looking blond guy walked up to her.

Pinoe kept a chuckle to herself as she felt bad for this guy, knowing he had no chance with Ali. She was smitten with Ashlyn from the beginning, though Pinoe sometimes wondered if Ali noticed.

"Yea. Aaron...?" She replied hesitantly, not sure if that was his name.

"You remembered." He grinned.

"I did." She entertained.

This guy walked up at exactly the only time Ali would even consider flirting with him. No offense to him, but Ali was just not interested in that way. As cute and as nice as he might be, she really only had eyes for Ashlyn.

Except now... now she entertained the idea of flirting with him.

At first Megan cocked an eyebrow. A few minutes into it, she rolled her eyes. Eventually she gave up completely and walked away. She thought Ali was being a dick and she didn't want to witness the rest of it.

...

Ashlyn was so caught up in trying to have fun that she actually was doing so. That was... until she saw Ali walk in with some guy.

"Oh, Ash, you better get your girl!" Tobin teased, completely oblivious to the whole situation.

She received an elbow from Kelley and a glare from Pinoe.

"I was kidding!" She defended herself and Kelley's look said it all. _Knock it off._

Thankfully, Tobin could take a hint.

"She's not my girl." Ashlyn mumbled to herself and dropped back into conversation with the girl from the bar. Making sure to pay extra attention to her now.

...

Ali wasn't really interested in this guy, at least, not in the way he was interested..

They had met a few years back through mutual friends and now, as he invited her to come with him and his friends to another bar, she was regretting striking up conversation again.

She made up an excuse and said she couldn't go. Which meant, he asked for her phone # instead.

Well... now she was in a bad position.

If Ashlyn saw her give her phone # to some guy, she knew Ashlyn would be upset, and with good reason. She knew it wasn't fair to do anyway. She tried to think of something quick but nothing was coming to her.

"Hey, man." She heard a familiar voice next to her.

 _Ashlyn._ Ali was worried what she was about to say to this guy. Until Ashlyn shook the guy's hand as she introduced herself and wrapped her arm around Ali's waist. Pressing a kiss to her temple, essentially marking her territory.

Ali didn't mind. At least now she didn't have to give this guy her #.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and pretended like nothing happened. Thankfully, he got the hint.

"It was nice to see you again, Ali." He smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Ashlyn."

He gave Ashlyn a head nod, a great-job-landing-this-girl head nod, and headed out to join his friends.

"Thanks." Ali exhaled as soon as he was out of sight.

Ashlyn immediately removed her arm and stepped back, much to Ali's confusion.

"I didn't do it for you." Ashlyn said bitterly, not daring to look Ali in the eye.

"What?" Ali asked with a little more attitude than intended.

"You're making me look like a fucking fool in front of our friends." Ashlyn bit out. "Flirting with some guy when I'm ten feet away from you. That's disrespectful, Ali. So... I put an end to it... for my own sake."

Ashlyn took a second for that to sink into Ali's brain. Ali didn't know how to respond to that anyway.

"I understand that you don't want this." Ashlyn motioned between herself and Ali. "And that's fine." _Its not fine but what else can I do?_ "But its not okay to treat me like this. And its especially not okay to treat me like this in front of our friends."

 _Did Ashlyn just say she is fine with us not being together?_ Ali's tipsy mind immediately thought the worst.

"Oh, but you can flirt with that girl all night, right?" Ali decided to take the defensive.

Ashlyn just narrowed her eyes and gave Ali a glare.

"What girl?" She looked over to the table and Ali followed her gaze.

The girl had left at least a half hour ago. Ashlyn wasn't interested either way. She only had eyes for Ali once they crossed the friendship line.

The table was only occupied by their friends who were laughing along with one another. Ali had basically wasted the entire night being jealous for no reason. Now she felt bad.

"I... I'm sorry." Ali softened up. "I drank too much and I got jealous and... yea... I'm sorry."

Ashlyn just nodded in agreement and Ali continued...

"I think we need to talk-"

"Let's just go back to the table and enjoy the rest of the night." Ashlyn cut her off and gave Ali a look, proving now was not the time to talk.

"O-okay." Ali agreed and swallowed the lump in her throat as she followed Ashlyn back to the table, hoping they could talk when the night was over.

Once Ali was back with their friends, Ash knew she would drop the plan to talk. Ali wouldn't make a scene in front of anyone. Ashlyn strategically took this time to bow out.

"I'm gonna head home." Ashlyn said and everyone got quiet.

Ali's eyes darted to hers almost in a panic. She knew Ashlyn did this on purpose.

"Told my landlord I would help him move some things tomorrow morning so..." She wasn't entirely lying. She just exaggerated the timing.

Kelley knew it was a lie- she knew the story and she knew something weird was going on tonight. But she kept her mouth shut. If this was Ashlyn's plan for the night- she was going to let her do it.

Pinoe, Alex, Press and Tobin thought it seemed odd but said nothing either. They figured it was between the two of them and let it go.

Ali looked to her with pleading eyes but Ashlyn never met her gaze.

"Night, Ash." Kelley said finally and the other girls joined in.

Except for Ali. Ali just stared at her as she turned to walk out the door. No goodbye. No hug. Nothing.

Now who looked like a fool...

...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No hate mail :) but obviously comment!

Ashlyn held onto the wall as she made her way down the stairs. She was in the middle of a dream when she woke up to someone knocking loudly at her door.

She swung it open to find Kelley again. Dressed in workout clothes and wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Now, I know we don't have CrossFit today." Ashlyn pointed out somewhat hesitantly.

"No. But this was the only way I could get over here without our weekend guests thinking it was suspicious." She explained as she walked past Ashlyn and into the apartment.

"Sorry I left like that." Ashlyn knew why Kelley was there. She turned on the coffee pot and pulled out two mugs. "I just couldn't sit there and pretend everything was okay."

"I get it." Kelley nodded. "I'm just here to make sure you're okay."

"Oh." Ashlyn was expecting a lecture. "Yea, I'm alright. I just... I don't get it, Kell."

She sat at the table across from her best friend.

"I thought we were good. Everything was perfect. And then I asked her to make it official and... I don't know. She got scared. I don't get it." Ashlyn buried her head in her arms and groaned.

"I don't get it either." Kelley couldn't offer much assurance. She really didn't understand Ali's angle.

She just wanted to be there for Ash and let her know she was on her side. In her opinion, Ali was pushing away the most important person in her life and she wanted to go tell her that. But she figured Ali would figure it out soon on her own.

Right before Kelley could continue, there was a knock at the door.

"Shit! They found me." Kelley laughed when she realized her plan didn't work.

Ashlyn didn't respond and Kelley slowly turned to her. Ashlyn looked nervous, like she knew what was coming.

"What?" Kelley asked with a confused smile.

"It's Ali." Ashlyn said cautiously.

Neither had moved from their spot at the table so Kelley was unsure how Ashlyn could know who was there. She gave her a weird look.

"I know that knock." Ashlyn answered, still in a whisper. Not sure if she wanted to answer the door or not.

Another knock echoed down the hall.

"Ash..." A voice called from the other side of the door. A voice whose tone indicated they knew she was home.

"I'm gonna go." Kelley pointed to the sliding doors behind her and got up.

She thought it was cute Ashlyn knew the way Ali knocked. Ash knew everything about Ali. She was in love with her. Even if she didn't know it at first, she sure knew it now. All this time later.

"Call me after, okay?" Kelley asked endearingly. She wanted Ash to know she cared.

"Okay." Ashlyn slowly nodded.

Once Kelley was out the back, Ashlyn made her way to the front and took a deep breath before opening the door.

_Ali._

...

 

Ali exhaled fully when Ashlyn finally opened the door. If she continued to distance herself, it would only make things harder.

They looked at each other for a moment before Ali spoke.

"Hi..." She said sadly, almost hesitantly. "Can I come in?"

Ashlyn didn't respond, she merely moves to the side so Ali could enter the house. She took a deep breath of the foggy, mountain air before closing the door behind them.

...

Ali walks to the living room and takes her normal spot on the couch. She's sat there a thousand times over the past few years. Before any of this started. And after.

"Do you want some coffee?" Ash offers when she notices Ali's eyes land on the two mugs set out from before.

Ali stares at the mugs for a moment, thinking to ask why there are two but deciding against it. The last thing she wants is to cause another fight right now.

"Sure. Thanks." She says quietly.

Ashlyn eventually comes over with both mugs and hands one to Ali before sitting in the armchair across from her. She makes a point not to sit in her usual spot... which is next to Ali.

And Ali notices but says nothing.

"I'm assuming you're here to talk?" Ashlyn says with a tone that indicates she's not happy about it.

"I am sorry about last night." Ali points out. "That wasn't fair of me to do." She says easily. Like she had been thinking it over for a while.

"Okay." Ashlyn gives her only that much.

"I don't want to fight with you. I don't want to be jealous of you. I don't want you to be mad or upset with me. I don't want to lose you because I'm sorting things out with myself but putting a strain on you." Ali continues.

And as much as Ashlyn's heart is hoping this is the conversation they need, to come together- the look in Ali's eyes- her whole demeanor warns of something bad to come.

"Okay." Ashlyn says again.

Ali takes a deep breath to steady herself. This is going to be really hard...

"I think we should spend some time apart..." Ali says very quietly, sadly even, and Ashlyn barely hears it. "Just until I have everything figured out."

Part of Ali thinks this is what Ashlyn wanted a few days ago... back when she said she didn't want to be near Ali right now.

Ashlyn stares at her. Again she finds herself in front of Ali with her heart being shattered into a thousand pieces. She's not sure how long she's been staring but it must have been a while because Ali asks if she heard what she just said.

Ashlyn's eyes drop to the mug in Ali's hand and stay there for the rest of the conversation.

"Yea... I heard you." Ashlyn whispers. "You want time apart to figure out if we should be together." She says out loud, hoping Ali will realize how dumb it sounds.

But she doesn't. Ali has this all planned out.

She doesn't want to further hurt their friendship or relationship with night's like last night. She knows its better to have some time and space to figure this out and not drag Ashlyn along with her. She cannot imagine hurting Ashlyn again.

Deep down, she knows Ashlyn is what she wants. She just hasn't fully realized it yet. And maybe she's still a little mad that Ashlyn left her like that last night.

"Just like... a week or two." Ali says like its no big deal.

"Sure." Ashlyn responds, emotion completely drained from her words. "Give me a call when you know what you want to do."

She puts down her coffee mug and gets up to leave before remembering she's at her own house. She knows she needs to escape before she completely breaks down. She's afraid it'll scare Ali away if she knows how much she really cares.

"Ash..." Ali gets up too and takes a step toward her. She expected Ash to push back on her decision, at least a little.

"I have, um, CrossFit with Kelley in a few so..." Ashlyn lied and started towards the stairs to the loft. "...You can let yourself out."

She choked out the last few words before jogging up the stairs and dodging through her room to the bathroom. She tried her best not to slam the door before she dropped to the floor. Feeling the effects of complete and utter heart-break as it rips through her veins.

Ali stood in the living room with tears running down her cheeks. She couldn't believe she just did that. But even more, she couldn't believe Ashlyn just _let_ her do that.

She felt her bottom lip quivering and grabbed her keys before running out the door. She ran until she couldn't breathe anymore and when she stopped, the dried tears on her cheeks were replenished with new ones.

She didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was she couldn't drag Ashlyn down with her while she did it.

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another update for you today. 
> 
> I'll put up the next chapter tomorrow. Drama to come!

"Are you serious?!" Kelley couldn't believe what Ashlyn just told her.

She called Ashlyn later that day when she didn't hear back. She wasn't sure if not hearing from her was really good news or really bad news. But she had a feeling.

"Yea." Ashlyn croaked out. She tried her best to hide the fact she had been crying.

"Why would she do that?!" Kelley was getting mad now.

"Isn't it obvious?!" Ashlyn threw her hand up. "She doesn't want to be with me and, at the same time, she doesn't want to ruin our friendship. So... she's taking the easy way out."

"Ash, I don't think that's the case..." Kelley tried to convince her otherwise. She truly believed Ali just needed some time and was unintentionally doing this.

"Its totally the case. She's breaking up with me, or already has, or... whatever." Ashlyn's tone mellowed from anger to sadness as she listened to her own words.

Kelley didn't know what to say.

"Ash, I'm going to pick you up early tonight so we can talk about this before we go to dinner." Kelley informed.

"I can't be around her, Kell. Let alone sit with her at dinner." Ashlyn pointed out.

"I haven't invited her yet and now I'm not going to. If that mother fuc-"

"Hey!" Ashlyn interrupted.

"Sorry." Kelley retracted. She should have known Ashlyn would still stand up for Ali. She was still her best friend. "If that ahem... jerk needs time- let her have it. She can have her time and we can have our fun."

Ashlyn debated it for a moment. She didn't want Ali to be left out, especially when their friends were in town. But then she remembered Ali was the one who decided this. She's the one who wanted time apart so... she could have it.

"Okay." Ashlyn agreed reluctantly.

"See you in a couple hours." Kelley said and hung up before Ashlyn could change her mind.

...

Ashlyn took forever to get ready. She just wasn't into it. Her brain was moving in slow motion as it was clouded with the back-and-forth thoughts of hating Ali and missing Ali. Hating her. Missing her. Over and over.

Kelley let herself in when Ashlyn yelled that the door was open. She made her way up to Ashlyn's room to find her half-dressed.

"You should invite Ali instead. I don't have anything to wear." She mumbled, feeling sorry for herself.

Kelley sat on the bed next to her.

"She'll come around, Ash. You guys are the real thing. I know it." She said and rubbed soothing circles on Ashlyn's back.

"You think so?" Ashlyn asked, hopefully.

"Yea..." Kelley nodded confidently. "I do."

...

Ali expected Pinoe and Kelley and them to call about dinner tonight but no one did. She didn't feel much like going out anyway, even if her friends were in town. She just wanted to spend the night on her own- feeling sorry for herself.

She brought it upon herself but she knew this was something she needed to do. She was about to lose her best friend by making her, her girlfriend. It was scary in some ways and amazing in others.

She wished she could have one more week of being best friends before jumping into this. But it was certainly too late for that. The friendship line was blurred so long ago Ali wasn't sure if it existed anymore.

...

Ali spent the night cleaning up her apartment. Her and Ashlyn had been so engulfed in each other the past few months that she had really let it go.

In her cleaning, she found a few of Ashlyn's things. A hoodie, a t-shirt, one of her flannels that Ali had strategically stolen, etc.

She made a careful pile and stacked it on the back of the couch as she folded each item. The hoodie for some reason struck a nerve and she clutched it to her chest tight. It smelled like Ashlyn and it only made her miss her more.

It had only been a few hours and she already missed her greatly. Maybe this time thing was a mistake. Maybe there was a way to keep her best friend and have her as a girlfriend. Maybe she overreacted a bit.

She finished up cleaning and decided to Skype Kyle.

"Hey girl!" He beamed as his face appeared on the screen. "I'm in between clients so I can only talk for a few."

"Okay." Ali nodded.

"So... what's up?" He smiled.

"I have to tell you something..." She started and Kyle simply waited for her to continue. "Ashlyn and I are together like... dating together." She rushed it out.

"Yea, and...?" He waited for more.

"That's it." Ali scrunched her brow.

"Oh." He mirrored her confusion.

"You already knew?" Ali asked, completely shocked.

Kyle cocked an eyebrow and started to laugh until he realized his sister was dead serious.

"Yea. Its pretty obvious, isn't it?" He admitted, trying to hold back a smile at his sister's nervousness.

Kyle had seen it coming a mile away. Though his sister was never into girls before, she was certainly into this one. Ali was completely infatuated with Ashlyn since they met. She just didn't realize why until recently.

And Kyle saw how Ashlyn treated Ali. She had always taken special care of her and treated her different from everyone else. The first time Kyle met Ashlyn- he could tell how dedicated she was to make a good first impression- not something just any friend would worry about.

Kyle was smiling pretty wide but checked it when he noticed Ali's nervousness.

"What's wrong?" He asked like he already knew.

"I pushed her away." She said sadly. "Because I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Messing it up. Losing her. Ruining our friendship... Breaking her heart." She counted off on her fingers.

"You think you're going to break her heart?" Kyle asked, wondering why Ali would think that.

"No." Ali admitted. "But what if, Kyle?"

She was being completely irrational and childish and Kyle was going to call her on it.

"So you're going to push her away and possibly ruin this amazing chance with the girl you love because you're scared. Scared of... essentially, nothing! I hate to break it to you, hun but... life isn't like a romantic comedy. You can't just push her away and expect her to come running back with arms wide open, proclaiming her love and sweeping you off your feet."

"I never said-"

"Alex, I love you. I do. But you're so goddamn stubborn sometimes. Call her. Fix it. Because I love Ash too... not just because she's become like a sister to me these past two years but... I know how much she loves you. I see how much you love her. So... there's my brotherly lecture for the day." He finishes as he looks off to the side of the screen and acknowledges someone.

Ali still hasn't found her voice to speak yet.

"I gotta go, my next appointment is here. I love you." He blows a kiss with a smile and then gets serious again. "But I mean it." He says before the screen goes blank.

...

Later that night, Ali checks her phone for texts from the girls but there are none. She half cares and half doesn't. That is... until she checks Instagram.

Kelley has a couple pictures from the night. One of the crew at dinner and one of them out afterward. Ashlyn is there, smiling, having a great time like nothing is wrong.

Ali figures either... Ashlyn told them the story and they took her side... or... Ashlyn didn't tell them anything because she simply didn't care. Either way, it only makes Ali more mad. Which, in turn, makes her more stubborn.

She tosses her phone on the other side of the couch and huffs out a big breath, crossing her arms across her chest and narrowing her eyes.

_She can wait it out then._

...

After the third failed try at a group selfie, Kelley was getting annoyed.

"Ashhh, smile!" She said as she prepared to take it one more time.

Pinoe grabbed at Ashlyn's ribcage and forced a laugh out of her. She knew Ashlyn was just barely ticklish enough to get a reaction.

Kelley took the opportunity to make it work. "1, 2, 3!" 

That one came out best and she passed her phone around for everyone to see before she posted it.

"Wow, it actually looks like you're having fun." Tobin whispered sarcastically as she leaned into Ashlyn's side and passed the phone to Alex who was on the other side of her.

Tobin knew something was up.

Ashlyn looked up and saw Tobin expecting her to spill.

"Coffee tomorrow?" She offered, letting it be known she does not want to share with everyone and Tobin accepts.

Again, Ashlyn is glad Tobin can take a hint.

...


	6. Chapter 6

Ali wakes the next morning feeling less bitter about the pictures and more optimistic about the day. Her mom is coming into town today, which plays into part of the reason she needed some space. She needed to tell her mom too.

Ali knew she would be understanding but that was about all she knew. The fact it is her best friend, the fact it is Ashlyn, makes everything different. She doesn't want anyone thinking it was going on this **whole** time.

They were best friends first. She wants that to be known because its important to her. Their friendship is what brought them together. It's still at the base of it all.

She continued her cleaning and then hopped in the shower when her mom texted she was just waiting on her rental car and should be there soon.

She jumped up and ran out of her room when the doorbell rang.

There was a box of stuff on the floor by the couch that Ali forgot to move out of the way. And the pile of Ashlyn's things. Ali meant to move them to her room but she forgot and was out of time now.

"Shit." Ali laughed and pushed Ashlyn's stuff into the box before placing it in the coat closet for now. She knew her mom would comment on everything and she didn't want to give her a reason to nag about cleaning up. "Mothers." She exhaled with a smile before she opened to door to her own.

...

"Oh..." Tobin pauses, as she seemingly relaxes and sits back in her chair. "I thought she like, broke-up with you or something." Tobin basically waved it off.

"That's basically what she did." Ashlyn pointed out.

Her tone is short. Annoyed even. They drank too much last night and Ashlyn didn't sleep well, if at all.

"Ash, she's just asking for time. You have to give it to her." Tobin shrugs.

Usually, Tobin is the voice of reason for Ashlyn. She's calm and collected and a little out there. So, its quite annoying when Tobin's words only make her more angry this time around.

Ashlyn is ultra-sensitive when it comes to Ali situations. She has never felt anything for anyone like she does for Ali. She has never wanted to treat someone the way she treats Ali. So she can't help it but get more irritated every time someone acts like this isn't a huge deal.

"I don't have to give her anything!" Ashlyn replies a little louder than expected and a few people pause their conversations to look at her.

Its only then that Tobin notices how upset Ashlyn really is about this.

"Oh, hey..." She sits up and leans over the table. "Sorry." Tobin offers.

Ashlyn sinks down in her seat as people resume their previous conversations.

"I don't know what's wrong with me." Ashlyn concedes. "Sorry."

"It's cool. I didn't know you were so upset." Tobin gets serious now. "Ash, she loves you. Ali is a smart girl- if she's doing this, she knows its the right move and she'll figure it out. You just need to let her."

"Yea..." Ashlyn gives in but isn't happy about it. She feels like she is losing Ali every second she's away from her.

Tobin sits back and takes a swig of her coffee. "She'll come around." She adds.

"That's what _everyone_ keeps saying." Ashlyn mumbles and sips her own.

...

Ali and her mom are walking toward Deb's favorite place to eat when she visits as they see Ashlyn and Tobin leave the coffee shop across the street.

"Oh look!" Deb exclaims and raises her hand to wave Ashlyn over. But before she can open her mouth to yell, Ali pulls her into a shop to prevent it.

Ashlyn and Tobin didn't even see them, thankfully.

"Honey, what are you doing? I just saw Ashlyn, I wanted to invite her to lunch." Deb explains, wondering what has gotten into her daughter.

"You can't." Ali replied.

Deb just laughed at Ali's reaction, thinking she was just trying to be funny.

"Oh, Alex." She chuckled and moved to head back outside, hoping to still be able to catch her other "daughter".

"No, Mom!" Ali grabbed her arm and pulled her back in.

"Alex, what has gotten into you?" Deb laughed as the man behind the cash register looked on with a smile.

"I don't want her to come to lunch." Ali whined. _Because I have something important to tell you._

"Why not?" Her mom narrowed her eyes and then looked out the window once more.

"Because we're dating!" Ali blurted out.

Everything stopped. The guy behind the counter cocked an amused eyebrow. This is not how Ali meant for this to happen.

Deb just looked at her for a moment and then shook her head.

"All the more reason to invite her to lunch!" She smiled and put both hands on Ali's arms so she could look her in the eye. She held Ali's gaze for a moment and then gave up. "Fine! Tomorrow then!" She said and walked out the door to continue to to their destination.

Ali was shocked. _That's it? That's her whole reaction?_ She asked herself as she slowly followed.

...

"Oh hey, Ash!" A tall, but not too tall, blonde girl called from her car as she got out and paid the meter.

Ashlyn and Tobin stopped to grab lunch for everyone else at a deli in town and were making theyr way back to Kelley's apartment.

"Erin!" Ashlyn exclaimed and jogged over to her. "Welcome back!" She said as she scooped her up in a hug.

"Thanks. So glad to see a friendly face." She smiled. "Oh, hi, I'm Erin." She extended her hand for Tobin to shake.

"Tobin." She obliged.

"Erin just got home from the Peace Corps... last week?" She checked.

"Yep. Two and a half years in India." She nodded and smiled at Ashlyn.

"Wow. That's awesome." Tobin replied. "India is on my list of places to go."

"Definitely let me know if you do it. I'll tell you all the places to check out." She offered.

"I'll keep that in mind." Tobin made a mental note and smiled.

"Well, anyway, we're gonna go but it was good seeing you." Ashlyn gave her another hug.

"You too, Ash. Are you still on the same street as my parents?" She asked.

"I am. Come by sometime." Ashlyn extended an open invite to be polite.

"I will." Erin replied. "Still have the same phone #?"

"5151?" Ashlyn rattled off the last four digits as Erin checked her phone.

"Yes. That's what I have." Erin grinned.

"Thaaat's it." Ashlyn smiled back.

"Cool. I'll call you sometime this week... It was nice meeting you, Tobin." She gave them a small wave and continued on her way.

...

"What else do you have to sort out?" Deb asked when Ali told her the situation over lunch.

"I don't know. I have to tell Dad and some people. Its not that easy, Mom." Ali reasoned.

Deb didn't understand what the issue was or why she had to tell others before answering Ashlyn's question... but she let it go. Ali was a big girl- she could figure it out on her own.

"Alright, dear." She smiled and took a bite of her sandwich.

Ali studied her expression.

"Why are you not phased by this?" Ali finally asked.

Her mom almost choked on her food. That one caught her by surprise more than Ali's confession.

"Alex, honey, I've known since the first time you introduced Ashlyn." She smiled as she wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

"But we've only been dating for a couple months...?" Ali pointed out slowly.

"Coulda fooled me." Her mom smiled and took another bite.

Apparently, Ali was the only one who didn't see it from the beginning. Even her mom was more in tune than she was.

...

"So how do you know Erin?" Tobin asked nonchalantly as they walked back to Kelley's apartment.

"I've known her for years- through high school and college. But when I moved back after college she was leaving for India so I haven't seen her in a while." Ashlyn only gave her that much.

"Cool. That's good she's back now. She'll help distract you while you wait Ali out." Tobin tried to sound positive but it only served as a reminder to Ashlyn of Ali's absence.

"Yea..." She said sadly but forced a smile.

...

"Are we doing dessert?" Ali asked excitedly and her mom nodded just as enthusiastically.

Ali already knew what she wanted so she handed the menu to Deb and looked out the window.

"How is the carrot cake here?" Deb asked but was received with silence. "...Alex?" She asked and looked up to find her daughter staring out the window. "Alex?" She said louder.

"What?!" Ali was startled by her name.

"You okay?" Deb asked, concerned by the look on her daughter's face.

"Yea. Fine. Just... thought I saw someone but... it wasn't." She said hesitantly and looked back to the table. _It can't be._

She could have sworn she just saw Ashlyn's ex-girlfriend walk past the restaurant...

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnn.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is turning into an episode of Gossip Girl right now... The drama is going to spiral in the next chapter. 
> 
> Let me know if you guys like this one!

Tobin's comment about "waiting Ali out" only stirred up emotions for Ashlyn and she was having trouble shaking them.

"What're we doing tonight?" Alex asked back at the house. "Its our last night together." She pouted.

"Is Ali feeling better? Maybe she can come out tonight. I missed her last night." Pinoe asked Ashlyn, completely oblivious the whole thing was a lie.

"Uh, yea... You should call her, Kell." Ashlyn gave her a look.

Kelley looked back at her, knowing Ashlyn was affording Ali the night this time. 

"I have plans tonight so unfortunately I have to skip." Ashlyn lied. She was getting sick of lying though. "But you're all still coming over for brunch tomorrow before the airport, right?"

They all said they were and left it at that. No questions asked.

...

Kelley texted Ali the plans for the night. 

Ali knew ditching her mom wasn't cool but she needed to talk to Ashlyn and this would be the best way. In a controled situation, where Ashlyn couldn't storm out on her.

Unfortunately for Ali, Ashlyn wasn't there when she showed up.

Now Ali felt really bad for ditching her mom. She figured she would stay for a bit and have her mom pick her up in an hour. She didn't plan on mentioning it the others because she knew they would feel guilty for making Ali leave her mom.

She wanted to stay in case Ashlyn showed up. 

Ali's mom on the other hand was just fine. Watching some TV and catching up on emails from work. Its not like they were going to do much tonight anyway.

...

Ashlyn didn't know what to do with herself. She rearranged her bookshelves and stacked wood by the firepit on her back patio. She alphabetized her movie collection and sorted the past week's mail.

She did anything to keep her mind off Ali... but it just wasn't working.

She figured going to the gym might keep her occupied and wear her out at the same time. She grabbed her bag and sneakers and headed out the door.

...

Being at the gym helped clear her head for a bit but she fell right back into the Ali rut once she was out. It was consuming her. If Ali didn't want to be together, all she had to do was grow-up and say it.

Going back to being friends would be hard, near impossible, but it had to be better than this.

She wanted to yell at Ali, to tell her this wasn't fair, to tell her she wasn't going to wait around for her anymore. It had already been a week and that was more than enough time in Ashlyn's eyes. If Ali didn't know what she wanted by now, she never would.

She debated whether or not to go over there as she walked through the lot to her Jeep.

She finally talked herself out of it, mostly because she knew Ali was out with the girls anyway. But that didn't stop her from writing Ali a letter. Folding it up in thirds. And hopping in her car to drop it off while Ali was still gone.

...

Ali had been checking her phone pretty frequently as the night progressed. Tobin noticed and thought it was weird. It was like she was waiting for someone.

"Alright, my ride's here." She got up abruptly after receiving a text.

"Your ride?" Kelley asked in surprise. _Who is driving her home if we're all here?_ She hoped maybe Ashlyn.

"Uh yea." Ali didn't mean to say that. _Shit._ "Gotta go. Bye! Love you. Safe flight."

She hugged them one-by-one, spending extra time with the out-of-towners and made her way out the door.

"What the fuck was that?" Pinoe asked.

Kelley shook her head. She had no idea but something seemed off.

Alex got up and walked to the door. She looked through the glass just in time to see Ali get into a white car.

"Who drives a Ford Focus?" She asked Kelley with a scrunched brow.

"No one I know." Kelley replied and tried to seem casual.

She made a note of the car and quickly shared a suspicious glance with Tobin. They knew something was definitely weird.

...

Ashlyn rolled onto Ali's street and parked a few houses down. She had to give herself a pep-talk before leaving the note.

Right before she was about to get out and walk over, a car passed, pulled into Ali's driveway and two people got out.

One she could tell was Ali- she knew her walk and her mannerisms easily but the other was too far away to see. They were inside before Ashlyn's eyes could adjust to the midnight sky.

She felt sick to her stomach. Who was Ali with and why wasn't she with their friends? Ali would never do anything to hurt their relationship, right?

 _She wouldn't. She wouldn't._

Ash had just about convinced herself when she saw Ali's outside light go out. 

Whoever was there, was staying.

Ashlyn's stomach dropped.

_She would._

...

Kelley found herself at a familiar place again this morning. Ashlyn's front door. At least this time she had three of their friends in tow.

Ashlyn was slow to answer the door. Kelley rang the doorbell for a third time before there was any commotion inside.

Kelley had no idea of what Ashlyn went through the night before but she had a feeling something was up now.

"Coming!" She heard finally and let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to everyone why Ashlyn is still in bed.

"Hey." Kelley studied her but she looked fine.

"Hey. Sorry... was washing my hands." Ashlyn replied as she wiped her wet hands on her apron.

"I brought champagne!" Press held two bottles in the air and Ashlyn smiled while she led them in.

She had a whole spread on the island and a nice set-up at the kitchen table. Glasses and mugs, plates and utensils, everything was out and ready to go.

"Wow. Nice, Ash. How did you have time to do all this?" Alex asked as she popped some cantelope in her mouth.

"I got up super early." Ashlyn shrugged.

The truth is, she never went to sleep. She got home, tore up the letter she wrote, cried her eyes out until there were no more tears left, and then made the decision she wasn't going to stand for this anymore.

She planned to tell Ali she had until the end of the week to give her an answer.

"Well everything looks great, Ash!" Pinoe gave her a side hug and everyone else agreed.

...

Ali woke with a headache. She pounded four drinks in the short time she was out last night. That wasn't like her but she was stressed and upset when she found out Ashlyn wasn't there.

And she knew at least one of them, she guessed Kelley, was in on what was happening between the two. Kelley interrupted Pinoe when she asked how she was feeling so she knew something was up. Subtle as it might be.

Deb handed her a cup of coffee when she entered the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mom." Ali smiled. "And thanks again for driving me home last night."

"That's what mothers are for." Deb teased and pat Ali on the arm.

They talked a little over coffee before getting ready for the day.

Ali planned a tour at a local winery followed by a tasting. Then she hoped to head into town and do some shopping. It had been a while since the two had done so.

Ali put her phone on the charger to gain some battery before they headed out. Unfortunately, that's where she left it.

...

Ashlyn drove everyone to the airport in the Jeep and they said their goodbyes in the terminal. 

"I'm sorry you have to sit next to _her_ for an hour." Kelley joked as she hugged Christen. She said it loud enough for Tobin to hear.

Tobin punched her arm in mock anger and then pulled her into a hug.

"I'll miss youuuuu." Kelley sang as she hugged Tobin tight.

"Take care of my girl." Pinoe said as she hugged Ashlyn.

Had it not been so cramped she would have noticed Ashlyn stiffen at her words. She knew nothing of this fight with Ali.

"Love you." Ash responded, deflecting her reply.

"Love you too." Pinoe added.

...

On the drive back to town, Kelley debated whether or not to bring up last night. But Ashlyn seemed to be in a better mood.

She thought maybe Ashlyn and someone else picked up Ali together. It was plausible since Ash said she had plans so she was obviously hanging out with someone else. Someone who could very well own a white, Ford Focus.

Kelley battled back-and-forth and then decided to just ask.

"What'd you do last night?" She tried to be non-chalant.

"Nothing really. Went to the gym. Cleaned up my place." She was too embarrassed to talk about the mystery person who stayed at Ali's.

"Oh... so you didn't pick up Ali from the bar?" Kelley asked cautiously.

"No." Ashlyn said quietly, already knowing what that meant. "She needs time, remember?"

"Do we know anyone who drives a white Focus?" Kelley asked and Ashlyn slammed on the brakes. "Is that a yes?" Kelley asked with her hand on the dashboard from the sudden stopping motion.

"No, but I saw that car at Ali's house last night." Ashlyn confessed, feeling sick again.

"Why were you at Ali's house last night?" Kelley asked and then thought better of it. "Nevermind, that's not the issue here. So... who... picked Ali up from the bar last night?"

They sat in silence, knowing neither of them had the answer to that question, both of them certainly thinking the worst.

...

Ashlyn dropped Kelley off at home and went back to her place. She knew she couldn't drive to Ali's- if that car was still in the driveway she was afraid she'd lose it altogether. She'd have to give Ali this deadline over the phone.

Ashlyn paced her living room and backed out of calling three times before she finally did it.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Until it went to voicemail. _Fuck. She's ignoring me._

*Hey, it's Ali. Leave a message.*

"Alex... Hi... It's Ashlyn." Ashlyn smacked her own forehead for stating the obvious. 

She wasn't really prepared to leave a message.

"Um, you know that. Anyway... I've been thinking... I can't wait for you forever. That's not fair. If you don't let me know by Friday, I'll assume the answer is no..."

There was a long pause as she let it really set in.

"So... call me." She said and kept her voice steady enough to pass for a sane human being.

The tears fell as soon as she ended the call.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured a Ford Focus was a common rental car :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I like Kelley's part a lot in this chapter.

Ali and her mom got back later than expected- having enjoyed a full day of fun and wine and shopping.

She headed to the kitchen to check her phone as she had been without it all day.

A text from Carm and one from Liz. A missed call and voicemail from Ashlyn. _Great. Of course I missed her when she called._

She checked her voicemail and her shoulders dropped when she heard it. She leaned back on the counter and listened again. Ashlyn sounded sad which was heart-breaking enough but her words were what really hurt Ali. She felt like she was giving up.

_Why is she rushing me? Its not like waiting a few days is holding her back from dating anyone else._

Deb gave her a look.

"Ashlyn called." Ali filled in.

"Oh. That's good, right?" Deb smiled hopefully.

"Not exactly." Ali mumbled and tossed her phone on the counter.

...

Kelley waited a day and then couldn't wait anymore.

She called Ali to see if she wanted to go to lunch.

When Kelley arrived, Ali was still rushing to get ready so she hung out while she did so. Ali had just gotten back from the airport with her mom and was sad to see her go but glad to be able to get back on track with Ashlyn.

Kelley decided to get right to the point.

"Hey, Al." She started as Ali walked down the hall from her room. "Who picked you up from the bar the other night?"

Ali slowed her pace and then decided to come clean. If Kelley felt guilty now, well. it was too late.

"My mom." She said casually. A little too casually for Kelley's liking.

"Your mom?" Kelley asked skeptically but it sounded more like a statement. It was accusatory, like she didn't believe her.

"Yea." Ali responded in the same tone. Not liking the way Kelley was talking to her. "My mom."

"Your mom lives in Florida." Kelley pointed out.

"Good job." Ali said sarcastically. "They have these things called planes, you know. And people get in them. And then-"

"I get it." Kelley interrupted.

They were both on edge now. Ali wasn't sure why Kelley didn't believe her and Kelley thought Ali was covering for something, not to mention she was already mad at her about the Ash thing.

"Let's just go." Ali quickly changed the subject.

"Sure." Kelley nodded in acceptance.

"Oh, can you grab my umbrella from the coat closet?" Ali asked as she searched her bag for her keys.

Kelley opened the closet and grabbed the umbrella. She was about to close it when a UNC t-shirt caught her eye. She stared down at a box of Ashlyn's stuff for a moment and then shook her head.

"What?" Ali asked as she walked over and saw what Kelley was looking at. "Oh..."

She knew how this must look. It looked like she packed up Ashlyn's stuff to give back to her and that wasn't the case. She had to explain... and fast.

"That's not what it looks like." She started.

"Really?" Kelley asked with an attitude. "That's **not** a box of Ashlyn's stuff?"

"Well, it is, but its not like that..."

Kelley just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I was cleaning, and then my mom got here, so I quickly-"

"Oh, right. Your _mom_ was here." Kelley interrupted sarcastically.

Ali had enough.

"What's your problem, Kelley?!" Ali yelled. "You invited me to lunch and now you want to accuse me of lying or whatever it is you're accusing me of...? What's going on?"

"Are you cheating on Ashlyn?" Kelley got right to it.

"What?!! No!" Ali was completely blind-sided by that.

Kelley checked her expression for an ounce of dishonesty. There was none. Kelley softened up a bit.

"I love you both but you're breaking her heart, you know. She thinks you don't love her. She's not going to wait around for you, Al. Why can't you just give her an answer?"

"You don't get it, Kelley!" Ali said angrily.

"You're right. I don't." Kelley said and walked out as she shook her head. 

When she got outside she realized she still had Ali's umbrella in hand. She walked back in. Pressed the button to open it and tossed the thing on the ground between her and Ali. Mostly just to be a jerk.

"Good luck." She said as she left but her tone proved she didn't mean it.

...

Ashlyn's phone rang the next day. Wednesday. And she hoped it was Ali. Maybe she just needed the night to gather her thoughts before calling back.

But it wasn't Ali. Ashlyn couldn't help but be disappointed but tried to play it off.

"Erin, hey!" Ashlyn answered.

"Hey, you." Erin replied. "I was thinking about taking you up on that 'come by anytime' offer. What're you doing tonight?"

Ashlyn weighed her options. Sit at home and sulk about Ali who will probably never call back or hang out with Erin who is willing to call at all.

"No plans yet. Why don't you come over around 7?" Ashlyn suggested.

"Cool. I'll bring the wings and you get the-"

"Wine!" Ashlyn joined in and they both laughed as they said it together.

"Wings and wine it is." Erin confirmed their old tradition and said she would see Ashlyn later.

Ashlyn had a good feeling about this- she needed to get her mind off Ali.

...

Ali had debated calling Ashlyn back all day. She didn't want to give in to Kelley's words so quickly. And with the way Kelley was acting, who knew how much of that was true.

She did call her dad though and told him about Ashlyn. He was more surprised than her mom or Kyle but still, regardless, he was supportive. Ashlyn always had a special place in his heart anyway. He was happy for his daughter. It was obvious their bond was very special.

She then called Kyle and after another "big brother lecture", he had convinced her to talk to Ashlyn.

In person.

Tonight.

She had to make things right before she hurt Ashlyn any further. It was never her intention to hurt her in the first place- all she wanted was some time to get herself together and she didn't want to drag Ashlyn into that. It was hard to explain- so she didn't.

Ali took a shower pretty early in the day and spent a good amount of time getting ready. She wanted to look good, really good for this conversation.

A few hours later... She was dressed, made-up, and ready to go see Ashlyn.

Wednesday nights were typically "their" night. They would hang out just the two of them, get dinner, and watch a movie or go for a walk or something. It was simple, but nice. She figured tonight was a better night than any to fix things, knowing Ashlyn likely didn't have plans.

She took one last look in the mirror, grabbed her keys and phone, and was on her way.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens. How is this one going? I know its super angsty but there is a destination we're heading toward, I promise!
> 
> And remember, kids- its bad luck to open an umbrella indoors! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who will get to Ashlyn first? Ali or Erin? Will they run into each other? And what will happen if they do!?!

Ashlyn heard someone at her door while she was out back. She shouted for them to come around to the backyard.

"Hey, friend!" Kelley beamed when she saw her best friend.

"What's up?" Ash smiled back.

"Not much." Kelley replied as she put the wine down on the patio table. Ashlyn had asked her to pick some up since she was stopping at the liquor store anyway. "What time is Erin getting here?"

"7:00-ish." Ashlyn said as she checked her watch.

She was standing on a ladder trying to fix her patio light. The bulb had blew the night before and she was pretty handy but still couldn't figure out the issue.

"Damn!" She said. "I guess I have to call the old landlord." She joked.

"Oh my god, David! Haven't seen him in a while." Kelley got along well with everyone. Including Ashlyn's 40-year-old landlord.

"It's a good thing when you don't see the landlord." Ashlyn chuckles. "It means everything is working."

"True, true." Kelley nodded.

She planned to keep talking all night and keep Ashlyn's mind off Ali. And keep her mind off her conversation with Ali too. She wouldn't dare tell Ashlyn she talked to her about it. She wouldn't dare tell her anything from that conversation.

"Want to hear my new running playlist?" Kelley asked excitedly.

"Uh, sure." Ashlyn shrugged and folded the ladder before following her inside.

...

Ali picked up some take-out and a bottle of wine on the way. She was going to do everything possible to smooth this over and win her girl back.

That included a lot of apologizing and explaining. And she knew she had to go about it the right way.

She gave herself a talk on the way back to her car. 

"You got this. Just be honest. You know what you want. You want her. You love her. Its okay to be scared- as long as you have her." She reminded herself it was okay.

She smiled and nodded at her own words before getting in her car and heading to Ashlyn's.

...

There was a knock at the door and Ashlyn smiled as she walked down the hall to answer it.

"Hey you." Erin greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and Ashlyn reciprocated.

She took Erin's sweatshirt from her and hung it on the coat rack before leading her in.

"I sure missed this place." Erin said as she walked into the little house.

"Did you miss me too?" Kelley asked when Erin came around the corner.

"Kelley!!" Erin yelled and ran to give her a hug when she arrived.

Ashlyn thought it would be better to surprise her with Kelley's presence. They had met a few times over the years and always tended to appreciate each other.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" Erin exclaimed from within the hug.

"I know. Not since you guys..." Kelley trailed off. She didn't mean to bring that up and it was obvious in her facial expression.

Erin and Ashlyn just laughed.

"Since we broke-up." Erin finished the sentence for her with a chuckle. "You can say it. We're past that."

Ashlyn and Erin dated on and off for a couple years. They got along great and cared about each other deeply but things never really went anywhere.

They both have since moved on and still maintained a strong friendship with each other. Something Ali was always suspicious of but no one else even thought twice. Ashlyn's allegiance to Ali was obvious.

"Ahh! I'm so happy you're here!" Erin gave Kelley another hug.

...

Ali parked on the street like always and walked down the driveway to Ash's house. She thought to knock on the door but she heard some music out back and figured Ashlyn was outside. Ashlyn spent a lot of time on the patio in the warmer months and the hammock was usually her "thinking chair".

Normally the motion light would catch Ali at the edge of the house but it didn't turn on for her tonight. She cautiously walked up the stone patio steps in the dark and started toward the back door when she saw something that froze her in her steps.

She stared straight ahead and couldn't believe what she was seeing... Ashlyn, sitting on the couch with Erin, awfully close to each other for a couch with only two people on it.

Ashlyn goes to hand something to Erin and then, flirtatiously, pulls back. She goes through the motion again, twice, until Erin laughs and basically climbs on Ashlyn to get it out of her hand.

At only that much, Ali had seen enough. She couldn't stand there and watch Ashlyn with another girl. She picked her jaw up off the ground and hurried around the house, up the driveway and toward her car, before she could let herself break down.

 _Was this why Ashlyn gave me an abrupt deadline? Because she knew I needed more time. Is this her easy way out?_ A million things were running through Ali's head as she sat in her car. She needed to calm herself before her drive home, be it a short ride, she was that upset.

...

"Grab my phone, I'll show you." Erin pointed to her bag on the other side of Ashlyn.

"First, tell me how he proposed." Ashlyn grabbed the phone but held it hostage.

"Give me the phone and I'll show you." Erin argued back playfully.

"I want to hear the story first." Ashlyn whined when she went to give Erin the phone and pulled it away again.

"I'll tell the story when Kelley gets out of the bathrooooom." Erin laughed and grabbed for the phone again but Ashlyn still pulled it away.

Erin finally gave up on asking and lunged at Ashlyn, landing on her, as she grabbed for the phone one more time.

Ashlyn lost the game when her eyes darted to the back door and Erin was able to get the phone. But Ashlyn's eyes stayed focused on the backyard.

"What?" Erin asked, following Ashlyn's gaze once the phone was secured in her hand.

"Nothing." Ashlyn shook her head but got up to look out the door. "Just... thought I saw something outside." She slowly let her eyes leave the sliding door as she walked back toward the couch. She could have sworn she saw something.

"Probably just a deer." Erin shrugged.

"Probably." Ashlyn agreed and let it go. But she felt something was off.

"Deer. Always creeping." Kelley added as she walked back down the hall and re-joined them on the couch. "So, how'd he propose?"

...

Ali locked herself in her apartment before she really let herself fall apart.

She couldn't help but think she was the cause of this. But she also felt like Ashlyn was rushing her to take the easy way out. What she felt right now hurt more than anything though- betrayal.

Why was Ashlyn hanging out with her alone? Flirting with her? On _their_ night, nonetheless.

She couldn't imagine talking to Ashlyn right now. Let alone giving her an answer.

...

"Alright, see you tomorrow, Ash. Great to see you again, Erin!" Kelley hugged both of them at the front door and said goodnight.

Erin hung around for a bit, just catching up with Ashlyn from what they both missed over the past two years. They had seen each other over the holidays in between but that was all. It was nice to finally get a chance to hang out.

"I'm glad I ran into you the other day." Erin smiled later as she pulled her hoodie over her head. "We should hang out again before I leave next week."

"I'd like that." Ashlyn smiled back.

"Cool." Erin nodded and grabbed her bag.

"Are you walking home?" Ashlyn asked. She knew Erin was staying at her parents' house while she was in town.

"I am." Erin scoffed lightly. "Its only a few minutes. I'm not _that_ lazy." She laughed.

Ashlyn shook her head with a smile.

"I'll walk with you." She said and grabbed her own hoodie to follow.

...

"She's with some other girl!" Ali cried out.

"What? Alex, calm down. Tell me what happened." Liz said soothingly.

She only knew bits and pieces of the situation. Last she heard- Ali got the voicemail with Ash's "deadline".

Ali explained her side of the story, not knowing what the truth was, and Liz listened intently.

Liz couldn't help but feel maybe Ali was missing something. It didn't sound like something Ashlyn would do to her. At least not from what Liz gathered the few times they hung out. She could see Ashlyn's admiration for her best friend and knew she would never do anything to hurt her.

She hoped Ali had it all wrong.

...

"Thanks for walking me." Erin hugged Ashlyn tight and held on a little longer.

"Anytime..." Ashlyn obliged.

Erin turned to walk toward the house as Ashlyn started back down the street. She paused and turned back to her.

"Ash..." She said softly, not sure if this was her place to say anything.

Ashlyn turned around without a word and waited for her to continue.

"Sometimes people are scared for reasons they can't explain to anyone else. It doesn't mean they don't love us or care about us... Don't give up on her. She's great for you- always has been. Just give her the time she needs." She said sincerely and walked up to the house without another word.

Ashlyn slowly turned and walked home at a crawling pace. She needed to think. Erin knew her pretty well and was an honest person. She always had a perspective Ashlyn appreciated.

Maybe she was right.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is THAT for drama?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,
> 
> Keep those comments coming so I know what you think.

Ali woke with a headache. She had cried for a good amount of time when she got home. She couldn't help but wonder how long Ashlyn and Erin had been hanging out. Her mind went directly to the worst case scenario.

She never really knew Erin. There was no reason to get to know her. She was the girl before Ali and Ashlyn had only seen her maybe twice in the past two and a half years.

But Ali knew their history before she moved here and she knew they were still close.

And she didn't like it.

Now, it seemed, she was right in her suspicions all along. Her and Ashlyn are taking "space" from each other and suddenly Erin is back in town. It was all too convenient for Ali's liking. She figured Ashlyn either did this out of spite or was never really serious at all.

...

"Hey, Ashlyn." David came around to the back patio where Ashlyn said she would meet him during their phone call.

"Hey, Dave. Its this one." She pointed to the motion light above the sliding doors.

"Alright. Let's take a look." He set up the ladder and checked it out while they made small talk.

"What have you been up to lately?" Ashlyn asked.

"A whole lot of work and nothing else." She chuckled.

David was part-owner of a local winery and spent most of his time there, making sure everything was running smoothly. They had just opened a couple years ago and there was always work to be done.

"How about you? Did you and Ali have movie night last night?" He often ran into Ali when she would come over.

Since they spent most of their time at Ali's apartment since it was closer to town, Wednesday nights were the most common time for him to see her. Especially because Wednesday was usually his night to work in his shop, which is in his garage.

Ali would make sure to say hello on her way down the path to Ashlyn's.

"Uhhh, no." Ashlyn answered hesitantly, not wanting to go into detail. "I hung out with Kelley and our friend Erin last night. Ali couldn't make it."

"Oh..." He stopped what he was doing and then looked to her weirdly.

"What?" Ashlyn chuckled at his expression.

"Nothing. I just... I could have sworn I saw her car out front when I got home last night." He thought about it and then shrugged it off before going back to fixing the light.

Ashlyn, however, did not shrug it off.

...

Ali made it through most of the day without a hitch. But Liz called later to see how she was doing and if Ali found out any more information, hoping there was an explanation for all this.

Ali didn't even answer her question. She just began bawling. Liz couldn't understand a word she said which she knew was a bad sign.

"Okay..." Liz coaxed. "Okay. Ali, honey, I'm gonna run home after work and pack a bag. I'll there before 9:00, okay?"

Liz lived a couple hours south in Santa Cruz. The traffic on a Friday would be terrible and the drive long but she knew Ali needed her best friend ASAP.

Ali was able to manage an "okay" before the tears got worse.

"I fucked up, Liz. I really f-fucked up." Ali was already blaming herself.

"You didn't, Al. I'll be there in a few hours, okay? Hang tight. Love you." She hung up the phone and quickly got back to work so she could get out of there on time today.

...

Friday...

"So... I think Ali came by the other night." Ashlyn mentioned casually when Kelley picked her up the next afternoon.

"You think?" Kelley questioned.

"I don't know. Dave said he saw her car outside when he pulled in." Ashlyn was still didn't know what to think.

"That's weird." Kelley scrunched her expression. She didn't really think Ali was the type to 'check-in' on Ashlyn. "Maybe it wasn't her... Either way- good thing I was there. We all know what Ali thinks of Erin."

"Yea." Ashlyn replied, her mind still stuck on Dave's observance. "Anyway... he also reminded me my lease is up next month."

"Oh?" Kelley replied. Ash had been happy there for a few years now, she didn't think she planned on moving anytime soon.

"Yea. So, we'll see..." She said and left it at that. It was Friday. She'll see what happens, if anything.

Kelley didn't respond. She simply nodded blankly and made a right at the stop sign.

"Where are you going?" Ashlyn laughed when Kelley turned the wrong way.

"I'm tired of you two being babies about this!" Kelley shouted.

Ashlyn wasn't laughing anymore.

"Kelley..." She warned.

"Nope. We're going." She wasn't going to let her two best friends push each other away.

"Kelley!" Ashlyn yelled.

But Kelley didn't respond. She only sped up a bit and continued toward Ali's.

Ashlyn grabbed for the wheel but Kelley smacked her hand out of the way.

"If you try to reach for the wheel again, I will punch you in the face." She said sternly.

Kelley would never do that but Ashlyn didn't need to know.

"You both need to grow up and if forcing you together is the only way to make that happen- so be it." Kelley's eyes never left the road.

Ashlyn had never seen her so mad. Or fake-mad. Whatever it was- it was intimidating.

Ashlyn huffed in defeat and disapproval and slumped in her seat.

Kelley knew nothing of the deadline. Ashlyn was trying to keep herself occupied all day in the case Ali did not call.

This was going to be hell.

...

"Good morning." Liz said when Ali finally got up. It was noon and she knew Ali needed the rest.

"You coulda work me up." Ali grumbled.

"You needed sleep, Al. I got you a coffee from the place on the corner." Liz pointed to the kitchen counter. "Heat it up."

"You went to Homegrown without me?" Ali whined and stomped to the kitchen. She was normally a morning person so Liz let it go this one time, considering the circumstances.

"I needed to cure my hangover." Liz reasoned.

"We didn't drink last night." Ali said as she walked over to the couch.

"My crying hangover." Liz corrected. Ali was crying so hard it made Liz upset at times too.

"Oh." Ali looked down to her coffee. "Is that what those are?" She replied sadly.

"Yea, kiddo." Liz commiserated. She knew Ali was pretty down. "Did you decide what you want to do?"

Ali nodded up-and-down but said nothing.

"And...?" Liz pressed.

She laid out two options for Ali last night. 1. Talk to Ashlyn and hear her side of things. 2. Drop it completely.

"I want to drop it." Ali mumbled and took a sip.

Liz really wanted Ali to give her the other answer but this isn't her life. Its Ali's and she can only help so much.

"Ok so... drop it?" Liz confirmed.

"Yea. She obviously has other priorities." Ali replied sadly.

Liz wanted to yell at her. Wanted to tell her she was being stubborn and selfish. But she didn't. She could only say those things so many times. Ali would have to figure it out on her own.

"Okay." Was all Liz gave her.

"If you stay tonight we can go out." Ali tried to sound hopeful, like this is what she wanted.

Liz weighed her options. She knew Ali needed a friend right now.

"Yea." She smiled. "Let's go out tonight."

...

Kelley slowly drove by with a dropped jaw.

"Whose fucking car is that?!" She asked and came to a stop out front. She couldn't believe there was another car in Ali's driveway. Again.

"Kell..." Ashlyn started.

"No, is she serious? That's so fucked up! I'm going in there." She unbuckled her seatbelt but Ashlyn grabbed her arm.

"Drive." Ashlyn said calmly but seriously. "Now."

Kelley read something in her eye that told her to listen. She clicked back in and continued to drive.

"What- how are you not freaking out right now?" Kelley didn't get it. She was ready to kick some ass.

Ashlyn continued to look out the window. She sighed and cracked a small smile.

"It's Liz's car." She said.

Thankfully, she remembered what kind of car Liz drove, otherwise she would have probably freaked out like Kelley said.

At the very least, Liz had just saved her from Kelley's plan.

But Ashlyn's smile faded when she realized that Liz's visit wasn't planned ahead of time. Her being in town likely meant no phone call from Ali.

 _Is Ali avoiding this altogether?_

...

Ali, Liz, and few of Ali's friends walked into one of the bars. It was Ali's favorite bar in town. Their plan was to go out for a little fun but Ali and Liz agreed- nothing too crazy considering Ali's current emotional state.

She wanted to forget what she saw when she went to Ashlyn's but she couldn't help the inescapable feeling of guilt for not calling her. Not letting her explain. Not giving her a chance.

She hoped maybe this added distance would wake Ashlyn up and send her running back. She hoped it would make her realize she was making a mistake with Erin.

She hoped and she hoped and she hoped. But she never did anything about it.

Like Kyle said- she was being stubborn, yet still hoping for her romantic movie ending.

...

"Ash, come on. Its just a couple hours." Kelley whined.

"Why would I want to go to your work party?" Ashlyn laughed.

"It's not a work party." Kelley pointed out, yet again. "Its just a bunch of people I work with, going out. If it sucks- you can ditch."

Ashlyn looked like she was debating it. That's when Kelley knew she won. She crushed Ashlyn in a hug and thanked her a hundred times. Now Ashlyn really gave in.

Kelley wanted to monitor her. She knew it had been a few days since her and Ali spoke and it was very obvious how hard it was hitting Ashlyn today. She was distant all day and had a sad look in her eye. Kelley didn't want her to be alone.

"Do I have time to go home and change at least?" Ashlyn asked.

Kelley gave her a guilty smile. That was a "no".

"Great." Ashlyn replied sarcastically.

"You look good in that anyway." Kelley gave her a wink and went to get herself changed and Ashlyn flopped onto the couch.

....

They walked into town and toward the bars.

"Where is this party anyway?" Ashlyn asked.

"Its not a party." Kelley laughed. "And its at The Lantern."

"Great." Ashlyn mumbled to herself. _How am I suppose to keep my mind off Ali when we're going to her favorite bar?_

...


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a quick update. Adding finishing touches to the next one so that will be up later today. I won't make you wait too long...
> 
> PS- I love Kelley in this one too.

"So what're you going to do now?" Liz asked as the two of them leaned on the bar to order another round.

She took this chance to check Ali's intentions, both for the night and the future. She didn't want to ask in front of their friends since Ali hadn't told anyone about it yet.

"I don't know." Ali bit the inside of her cheek. "I guess since she is on to the next girl, or the last girl I should say, that maybe I should move on too?" She didn't really want to do that but what choice did she have?

"Oh..." Liz sounded disappointed. She was hoping Ali would change her mind after a couple drinks.

Ali noticed the disappointment.

"Not yet... obviously." Ali added, as if to make it better.

"Yea." Liz nodded.

She would never admit it to her best friend, especially not in the state she was in, but Liz was really going to miss Ashlyn. She considered her a close friend and she was proud of Ali for finding someone who treated her how she deserved to be treated- the best.

"I'm obviously not looking for anything tonight..." Ali trailed off as her eyes caught someone walking by behind Liz.

She cocked an eyebrow and cruised whoever was walking past, obviously checking them out. It was like she was in a daze, totally engulfed in this person, she had no idea she was even doing it.

Liz noticed and chuckled at the timing as she turned to follow Ali's gaze. She stopped laughing when she saw who it was.

Ashlyn.

Ali diverted her gaze when she realized what she was doing and quickly looked down to her drink. Ashlyn and Kelley were so involved in conversation they didn't even notice Ali and Liz were there. Ali was glad though.

 _She looks good._ Ali missed her even more now and she was breathing the same air.

Liz slowly turned back to her best friend. She wanted to try one more time.

"Ali, you should talk to her." She said softly.

Ali scoffed at that and took a sip of her drink. She had been drinking pretty quickly tonight.

"The fact your world just stopped for those seconds she walked past. The fact you aren't even using words right now. The fact you're about to down that drink..." She pulled it from Ali's hand as she began to drink faster. "Those are all signs you need to talk to her."

Ali simply looked to Liz and said nothing. Her eyes said it all. Liz was going to be navigating through a mine-field tonight, but she was going to fix this if it was the last thing she did.

...

"Hey guys, this is my friend, Ashlyn." Kelley introduced everyone and Ashlyn shook all their hands in order.

It was a mix of guys and girls. About ten people and Ashlyn figured getting to know some new people, and Kelley's co-workers, couldn't hurt. She made a deal with herself to have a good time tonight and that was what she was going to do.

"I'm gonna go grab us some beer. Don't miss me too much!" Kelley teased and made her way to the bar, leaving Ashlyn with a bunch of people to get to know.

Kelley came jogging back in less than a minute.

"Hey, where's my beer?" Ashlyn laughed as Kelley was empty handed.

"Um... Ali's here... with Liz." She said quietly.

Ashlyn's eyes grew wide. "I swear, if you planned this, Kelley..."

"I didn't! I swear!" Kelley held her hand to her heart. _Though I wish I did._ "They're at a table with some friends across the bar."

"Okay... okay." Ashlyn looked at her hands and tried to talk herself down. "Hopefully they'll leave. Its a big enough place- they might not see us."

Ashlyn's eyes rose up to meet Kelley, who was smiling and waving to someone across the bar.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Ashlyn grit out angrily.

"What?" Kelley feigned innocence with narrowed eyes. "She was looking right at us." _Kind of._ Kelley shrugged.

...

"Let's go say hi." Liz coaxed.

"Are you crazy?" Ali asked rhetorically. "I'm not going over there."

"I'll be right back then." Liz said and got up before Ali could stop her.

...

"Maybe you two can talk tonight?" Kelley suggested, still not knowing Ashlyn gave Ali a deadline. Still not knowing the deadline was tonight. Still not knowing Ali chose not to meet it.

"Fuck that." Ashlyn replied defiantly.

"Listen, you two are not going to ruin all of our friendships by being stubborn. I'm not going to let that happen." Kelley said and stood.

Ashlyn grabbed her wrist.

"Kelley..." She warned. She was dead serious. "I'm not kidding right now. Do not go over there."

Kelley took one look at her.

"Fuck that." She mimicked and pulled her arm from Ashlyn's grasp, She jogged away before Ashlyn could catch her.

...

"Oh, hey!" Kelley exclaimed when Liz flagged her down on the way over. "I was just coming over there."

"Good. Because I was coming over to you guys." Liz pointed out.

They nodded to each other when they realized their intentions were similar.

"How's she doing?" Kelley looked toward Ali.

"Not good. Feels hopeless... And her?" Liz nodded toward Ashlyn.

"Bad. She thinks she's losing her." Kelley informs. "They just need to talk."

"I agree." Liz smiles finally. "What do we do?"

"I have an idea." Kelley leaned in so she could hear it loud and clear. "Head out back to the patio and get as close to the bocce ball court as you guys can. Okay?"

"Yea, will do." Liz confirmed.

"See you out there in five." Kelley held up her hand to show all five fingers, just in case.

"Okay." Liz laughed. "And hi, by the way."

"Oh yea!" Kelley crushed her in a hug. She didn't know Liz too well but had hung out in a group a bunch of times over the past year. She hadn't seen her in a while so a hug was definitely in order.

"Five minutes." Liz repeated the main detail and walked back to her table.

...

"You're brooding right now." Liz pointed out.

That only made Ali give her the death stare and slide further from her on the bench.

"Come on. Let's go out back, get some air, change the scenery." Liz coaxed. "All of us." She pointed to the group and the other girls agreed.

Ali gave her a look, like she was debating whether to go along with it or not. But then she decided she needed Ashlyn out of her sight. She gave in and followed everyone outside.

...

"A Jack and Coke, really?" Kelley asked when the waitress brought Ashlyn a drink.

"No." Ashlyn corrected... "A _double_ Jack and Coke."

"Is it really necessary?" Kelley asked, not expecting an answer.

"Was talking to Ali really necessary?" Ashlyn jabbed back and downed half of the drink. The table had done a shot too while Kelley was gone.

"I didn't talk to her." Kelley defended herself. "I ran into Liz in the middle. We caught up. That's it."

"Did she say anything about Ali?" Ashlyn asked, almost child-like.

She sounded so small and innocent. Kelley started to feel bad for pushing the matter.

"Yea..." Kelley said as Ashlyn's eyes met hers. "She misses you, Ash. Talk to her."

Its the last thing Kelley says before she suggests to everyone that they go outside and play some bocce ball.

Ashlyn chugged her drink and ordered another double before they walked out back.

...


	12. Chapter 12

When Ali sees Kelley and Ashlyn walk out with a few people, she knows she's been duped, but she also knows its too late. She picks up the pace on her fifth drink- this could be bad.

Liz avoids her glare and waits for the plan to fall into place. She didn't know what Kelley had in mind, but she hoped it would work. She knew once they were close to each other it was only a matter of time before something happened. Hopefully something good.

Ali thinks to move from her spot on the top of the picnic table, her legs dangling off the side as she faced the bocce court. But that would be too obvious and her friends were filling the benches anyway.

She was in direct line of anyone who came by, whether she wanted to be or not.

...

Ashlyn was completely oblivious to what was happening. She hadn't spotted Ali or Liz yet and was walking while talking to one of the guys Kelley worked with.

Kelley took this chance to put her plan in motion.

"Okay... Ash, Ryan, Steph and Dane- you guys go to the far side. We'll take this side." She pointed and followed them when they walked to the other side, still mid-conversation.

Kelley made it look like she was going to put her drink on a table but really she was walking alongside Ryan so she could act at the right time.

Ryan and Ashlyn (who was still oblivious) were coming up on Ali's table. Kelley waited until the last second and side-checked Ryan into Ashlyn who dropped her drink trying to catch herself from falling.

She was able to catch herself but she still crashed into one of the tables. More importantly, _someone_ sitting on one of the tables.

The person who "broke" her fall was really the one who prevented the fall. Ashlyn basically fell between their legs and grabbed the person's thigh. She felt them grab her by the waist to keep her from going down.

"Sorry!" Ashlyn apologized immediately and stood up straight. "I'm so s-" She stopped short when she faced her saving grace.

 _Ali._ Her stomach dropped but she said nothing.

Ali didn't respond either and they silently stared at each other, only a few inches apart.

Ashlyn's heart was panicking but she couldn't bring herself to move away.

Ali felt electricity like she never felt before. Being this close to Ashlyn was intoxicating. She didn't know what to do in this moment but this feeling proved a lot about the future.

"Ashlyn. I'm really sorry." Ryan apologized, not noticing he was just a pawn in Kelley's game. "Are you okay?" He asked Ali, feeling bad she just was crashed into.

Neither of them answered. They just continued to search for something in each other's eyes.

Ryan cleared his throat after a couple seconds and Ali snapped out of it. Her eyes remained on Ashlyn's though.

"Yea... I'm good." She said, her hand still around Ashlyn's waist.

"Sorry again, Ash." He patted her on the back. "You coming?"

"Its 3-on-3 now actually." Kelley jumped in and ushered him away. She quickly added... "Ash, you can jump in the next game."

Kelley gave Ash another push before moving away.

Ashlyn and Ali were both so caught up, and maybe a little drunk, they didn't even try to move apart.

Ashlyn's hips were now flush with the table and her hands on either side of Ali.

Ali's arm was still around Ashlyn's waist. She finally realized their position and quickly tried to think how to fix this.

Liz wrangled the other friends into conversation so the two could have a moment. Ali hadn't told anyone else about the issue yet. And they all knew the two were seeing each other, though Ali hadn't come out and told them that yet either.

The unspoken tension was hard to handle. Ali knew very well today was the deadline Ashlyn gave her. She knew Ashlyn knew it too. But Ali didn't want to talk about that here.

Thankfully, she didn't have to.

A waitress came up to Ashlyn before either one could speak.

"Here's your Jack and Coke." She said and handed Ashlyn a new drink.

"Oh, I didn't order anoth-"

"Its from the guy over there..." The waitress pointed across the way.

"Thanks." Ashlyn nodded to her and turned to wave to Ryan, who gave her the thumbs up and mouthed he was sorry again.

"Jack and Coke, huh?" Ali asked sardonically, knowing its Ashlyn's go-to drink when she wants to forget the night.

"Rough week." Ashlyn mentioned, not that she needed to, and separated herself a bit.

Ali immediately wished she hadn't used that tone when she felt Ashlyn pull away.

"Yea... me too." She said heavily and looked to Ashlyn's eyes.

They shared the same silence as before until Ali was the one to break it again. She was generally more talktive when she drank and Ashlyn was generally the quieter one.

"You look nice..." Ali said quietly. She acted without thinking and brushed some of the spilled drink off the fabric under the collar of Ashlyn's button-up. "Whiskey droplets included." She teased, not knowing if it would be received well or not.

"Yea?" Ashlyn asked and looked down to Ali's hand on her chest. "Kelley kinda blind-sided me with these plans and then didn't give me time to change." She chuckled lightly.

"Well, you coulda fooled me." Ali replied shyly and removed her hand under Ashlyn's gaze.

"Thanks." Ashlyn whispered and let her eyes drop to Ali's.

There was something there in that moment and in Ali's gaze. Ashlyn could have sworn she saw regret and sorrow and maybe a little bit of hope.

But then she was reminded what today was. And that Ali was here, at a bar, drinking with friends instead of giving her an answer, or so much as a call back. It hurt all over again.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Ashlyn quickly lied and made her escape before she could be convinced otherwise. Before Ali could pull her back into relationship-nothingness.

Ali noted Ashlyn's new drink on the table next to her. She had only taken a few sips. Ashlyn might have been going to the bathroom, but when she was done- she was leaving.

Ali wasted no time to get up and follow her. She wasn't going to let it end like this tonight.

...

Ashlyn looked at herself in the mirror. She told herself the other night, after seeing the random car at Ali's, she wasn't going to let someone walk all over her. She wasn't going to give in without knowing there was a future.

Ali had made it very clear she either didn't want a future or didn't know if she wanted one. Either way, to Ashlyn, Ali's answer was no.

"Call a cab. Go home. Do not respond to her texts." She told herself in the mirror. "She doesn't want the same thing as you. You have to let her go, Ash."

She gave herself a talk and nodded when she was finished. She was done with Ali.

She opened the door, ready to make a bee-line to the exit and head home when she crashed into Ali for the second time that night.

But this time, instead of catching her, Ali pushed back until they were both in the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

...

"Did that actually work?" Kelley asked as she walked over to Liz a few minutes later.

Liz shrugged with a smile. As far as she knew, the two had walked back inside together about five minutes ago and haven't been seen since.

"Nice." Kelley pat herself on the back.

"Let's hope they're in there talking it out." Liz nodded toward the bar and Kelley smiled.

"I hope so."

...

Ali slammed the door shut behind them and pulled Ashlyn into her as she crashed their lips together.

Ashlyn's whole pep-talk went out the window the instant her body was against Ali's. She quickly brought her hands to Ali's hips and deepened the kiss.

Ali wrapped her arms around Ashlyn's neck and pulled her closer.

They made out for a few seconds, already gasping for breath with how worked up they were. Ali brought her lips to Ashlyn's ear and whispered.

"I missed you so bad it hurt." She said in an exhale before she began dropping hot, open-mouthed kisses from Ashlyn's ear to her mouth.

When their lips met, Ashlyn grabbed Ali by the back of the thighs and lifted her up, slamming her back against the door.

Ali let out a whimper of pleasure when Ashlyn pressed her body between Ali's legs. Her breath was already staggered. She missed so much having Ashlyn like this. This was her Ashlyn- no one else's.

"Baby..." Ali exhaled approvingly into the kiss when Ashlyn undid the button of her pants. But before they could continue futher...

*Knock, knock, knock.*

 _FFFF._ Ali dropped her head back against the door.

"...Be right out." Ashlyn shouted so they could hear on the other side but she didn't put Ali down.

"My place?" Ali suggested in an exhale but it was more a statement than anything else.

"Liz." Ashlyn reminded Ali of her guest as she slowly put her back on the ground and straightened out her own clothes.

 _Shit._ "Your place?" Ali was asking this time.

Ashlyn's eyes quickly darted to her. She wanted to know Ali's intentions. This just felt like sex. She didn't want _just sex_. But another knock at the door distracted her from that thought.

"Yea." She said and opened the door to leave before Ali could even re-button her pants.

...

Ali caught up to Ashlyn and even got a few steps ahead. She headed for the exit but Ashlyn's voice stopped her.

"Give me your keys." She said.

Ali searched her bag and handed them over without even hesitating. There was no questioning, she just did it.

"Wait here." Ashlyn added as she made her way back to the patio.

Ali scrunched her brow but didn't ask. She stayed there like she was told and waited for Ashlyn.

...

Ashlyn walked straight up to Liz and handed her Ali's apartment keys.

"Hi." Liz said. A little caught off guard by Ashlyn suddenly standing in front of her.

"Hi." Ashlyn acknowledged.

She knew Liz had a part in this but she wasn't there to talk about that. She wanted to make sure Liz could get into Ali's apartment to sleep tonight, since Ali had completely disregarded anything other than her want for Ashlyn.

"I'll have her home in the morning." Ashlyn said without mentioning her intentions. She thought it was pretty obvious.

"Okay." Liz replied with a small smile.

Ashlyn thought to tell her it wasn't worth smiling over but she opted not to. She missed Liz too. She was glad at least someone from the other side saw how much Ali loved her.

Ashlyn sat next to her quickly and gave Liz a side-hug.

"I wish I didn't have to miss either of you." She said softly and then got up to quickly get out of there.

Liz didn't even have time to respond.

She wished she didn't have to miss Ashlyn either.

...

They waited for a cab in silence. Ali was too worked up and Ashlyn was too conflicted.

When they got in the cab, the mood changed. Ali got in first but never moved past the middle-seat. She rattled off Ashlyn's address to the driver as Ashlyn got in and closed the door. She turned to face forward but instead was pulled into a kiss by Ali.

Ali's hand slid up her neck as she slipped her fingers into the back of Ashlyn's hair, pulling her closer. It was a passionate kiss and as much as Ashlyn wanted to resist and not give Ali what she wanted until she knew her intentions, she just couldn't do it.

Because she wanted it too.

They made out the whole ride home. The cab driver hardly noticed, or if he did, he ignored it. He was probably used to it by now. And neither of the girls thought anything of these actions. Ashlyn had done much more in a cab anyway.

...

Ashlyn fumbled with her keys. The alcohol and sexual tension had caught up to her. Ali would have helped if she was any better off but she wasn't.

They finally got in and closed the door.

Ali was on Ashlyn before Ashlyn could even flick the light-switch. She pulled her toward the stairs.

Ashlyn followed, still in the kiss, as Ali backed them up three steps to the landing. Ashlyn swiftly picked Ali up and began walking up the rest of the stairs.

Her coordination was off and she kicked one of the steps causing the two to fall forward onto them. Her reaction time was too slow to stop it and the back of Ali's head bumped the step. Thankfully, her stairs were carpeted.

Normally, this would elicit a laugh from both of them and Ashlyn would be checking if Ali was okay. Ali doing the same for Ashlyn. But it wasn't about that tonight. Tonight was something totally different.

They stared at each other. Neither one smiled. Neither one had said a word since the bar.

Ashlyn's eyes dropped to Ali's lips and Ali watched her. There was a three second pause and then Ashlyn hastily reached for the button of Ali's pants as she unzipped them with her other hand.

Ali quickly worked on unbuttoning Ashlyn's shirt at the same time but she only made it so far before Ashlyn's hand slid into her panties.

"Mmmm." Ali moaned and let her head roll back onto the step.

She was not going to argue doing this on the stairs if it meant not having to wait any longer. She wrapped one arm around Ashlyn's shoulders and leaned on her other elbow for leverage.

Ashlyn unbuttoned the rest of her own shirt and pressed flush against Ali, sliding her fingers against her smoothly. She used her own hips to increase the pressure and Ali bit her shoulder as she rode it out.

They were by no means ever boring when they were together, both liked it a little rough and they knew it. But tonight was extra rough, it felt different, vengeful. There was no smiling no giggling, no taking their time or looking into each others eyes.

It was just sex. Just as Ashlyn feared.

It was only going to make tomorrow so much harder.

...


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to do this to you guys... but I know your hearts can take it. I promise everything happens for a reason.
> 
> PS- warning for foul language and a good old fashioned slap in the face. Technically, you guys asked for it :)

Ashlyn woke with a weight just above the small of her back. It only took her a minute to realize it was Ali's head.

_After they had sex, a couple times, Ashlyn snapped back to her convictions. Having Ali there was only a reminder that Ali hadn't answered her. A reminder that she asked Ali to be her girlfriend, and now, considering its Saturday, it seems Ali's answer is no to a relationship. But yes to sex. Ashlyn knew her heart couldn't handle just that._

_As they laid in bed, recovering from their drunken sex session, Ali cuddled close to Ashlyn and laid her head on her shoulder._

_"I missed this." She whispered._

_That snapped Ashlyn out of it. How could Ali say that when she is hanging out with someone else? Why didn't she answer me? What does this mean? She pulled away to go to the bathroom but really it was to have some space._

_When she came back to bed, she stayed as close to the edge as she could, laying on her stomach, away from Ali._

_This only confused Ali more. She stared at the back of Ashlyn with sad eyes for a while before she realized she wasn't going to roll over. She sighed and cuddled up by herself, burying her face in her arm and holding back tears until she fell asleep._

_Its not until the middle of the night she scooted closer to a sleeping Ashlyn, laid her head on her back, and was able to finally get some rest._

Ashlyn didn't want to wake Ali now. She didn't want to have an awkward morning with her. She didn't want to endure the silent ride to Ali's house, filled with unanswered questions and disappointment.

But she promised Liz she would bring Ali home in the morning. Though, when she said it, she thought it would be under different circumstances. She cursed herself for thinking last night was a good idea. She just took a giant step backward.

She pulled the pillow over her head and tried to go back to sleep.

...

Ali woke when she felt Ashlyn bury her head under one of the pillows. She didn't remember moving to snuggle with her but she wasn't surprised either. She was naturally drawn to Ashlyn.

Ali thought this morning would be a good chance to talk. Maybe Liz was right and Ashlyn had an explanation. Ali swallowed her pride and wrapped an arm around Ashlyn to pull her closer.

"Good morning." She pressed a kiss to her spine and whispered into her skin.

"Morning." Ashlyn's reply was delayed and short.

Ali could tell they weren't on the same page. This was going to be harder than she originally thought if Ashlyn was in a bad mood. She figured a little morning make-out session would be a good pick-me-up.

She moved up to lay her head on the pillow next to Ashlyn's and pulled the pillow off Ashlyn's head. When she realized Ashlyn wasn't going to turn around, she climbed over her so they were face to face.

But Ashlyn wouldn't open her eyes.

Ali brought her hand gently to Ashlyn's cheek and stroked it with her thumb.

"Ash..." She coaxed and Ashlyn reluctantly opened her eyes.

Ashlyn was met with the softest, most beautiful eyes she swears she has ever seen and they brighten when they meet hers.

"Hi..." Ali whispers and a small smile creeps onto her lips.

Ashlyn didn't respond. She wasn't ready. And Ali simply leaned in to press a soft kiss to her lips. She let it linger for a moment and then leaned in to do it again with more intention this time.

Ashlyn thought to push her off but she couldn't bring herself to do it. All she wanted was Ali... and she's right here.

Ali's only intention was for a morning make-out session but when Ashlyn flipped her onto her back she went with it. She wanted to be with Ashlyn in any way she can have her right now. She let herself start to get into it.

Ashlyn settled between Ali's legs and its not until Ashlyn slides her hand up Ali's side that she realizes she's wearing a t-shirt. Ashlyn's eyes drops to look at it and she stares when she sees its one of her own. For some reason, that gives her pause and she pulls back a bit.

"What's wrong?" Ali asks, concerned and out of breath.

Ashlyn thinks for some time before speaking. She's trying to figure out Ali's intentions here but she's pretty sure she only wants sex.

"Is this all I am to you?" Ashlyn asks sadly, like she truly doesn't know the answer, and her tone makes Ali's heart stop.

"What?" Ali exhales in a whisper.

She was not expecting that at all. How could Ashlyn even think that. This whole "time" and "space" thing has been blown completely out of proportion. 

"Is sex all you want from me?" Ashlyn takes the blunt approach and sits back on her calves, adjusting the strap of her sports bra as Ali had used it to keep her close.

"No." Ali answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want you."

She sits up and reaches for Ashlyn's hand but Ashlyn pulls away.

"You have a really fucked up way of showing it." Ashlyn responds bitterly. Not trusting Ali with her heart right now. The entire past week was finally hitting her right now.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ali asks, slightly offended by her tone.

"Are you seeing someone else?" Ashlyn couldn't hold back anymore.

Ali just stared at her, gap-jawed with wide eyes.

"Oh, you can't be serious right now." Ali was astonished this was coming up yet again. Especially when she just saw Ashlyn with her ex a couple days ago.

"So that's a yes..." Ashlyn mumbled at Ali's lack of an answer.

"No." Ali shook her head angrily. "That's a NO... What is your problem?!"

"MY problem?" Ashlyn said as she got up and pulled on a long-sleeve. "I'm not the one secretly hanging out with someone behind your back!"

Ali took a second to stare at Ashlyn before getting up and pulling on her jeans from the night before.

"Coming from the girl who just had her ex over the other night." She muttered loud enough for Ashlyn to hear.

"What?" Ashlyn asked. Her anger had dropped. Now she was the one who needed to explain.

"Yea, I know you and Erin have been hanging out. So... don't even try to lie about it." Ali said.

"Lie? We hung out once... WITH Kelley. Nothing is going on there, Alex." Ashlyn reasoned.

"Oh, right. I'm sure Kelley was there." Ali replied sarcastically, knowing 100% she did not see Kelley when she came by that night.

"She was!" Ashlyn was getting mad again.

She then remembered what her landlord said about seeing Ali's car that night.

"Were you... spying on me?" Ashlyn cringed at having to ask but what else would you call it?

"What? No!" Ali back-pedaled. "I just... came by to... talk to you." She trailed off.

"About... what...?" Ashlyn softened up a bit at that, realizing what it could have meant.

Ali took a deep breath but the Erin thing was festering in her mind.

"Nothing." She muttered through an exhale.

Ashlyn watched as Ali gathered her things and made her way down the stairs. She decided to follow her.

"Who drives a white Focus?" Ashlyn asked as a last-ditch chance to let Ali explain herself.

"I don't know." Ali gave her a glare as the slipped her shoes on at the bottom of the stairs.

Ashlyn shook her head and let out a humorless laugh.

"What?!" Ali yelled.

"You're fucking lying to me." Ashlyn grit back.

"I am not lying to you. I don't know anyone who drives a white Focus. What the fuck do you want from me?" Ali yelled back.

Her anger was now rising. It seemed Ashlyn was avoiding her own lies and projecting on Ali.

"I saw someone, in a white Ford Focus, drive you home one night last week." Ashlyn said very slowly as she walked toward Ali.

"Ashlyn... I do not. Know anyone. With a white. Ford Focus." Ali spelled it out for her. "And what were you doing at my house? ...Spying on me?" She accused back.

"No!" Ashlyn responded. "Ali, I saw that car. I saw you and another person get out of it and go into the house. I saw it... with my own eyes. At least have the decency to be honest with me."

Ali didn't even think to consider what car her mom rented when she came to visit. In her mind, Ashlyn was trying to turn this on her and that wasn't fair.

"I never did that! That car was not at my house." Ali pointed at her angrily. "You're crazy, you know that?!"

That was the last straw for Ashlyn. She snapped internally but kept a calm front. All but her words, which she cringed at even as she said them...

"At least I'm not out there slutting it up." Ashlyn knew it was wrong but she couldn't stop herself. She was so hurt by Ali, her best friend above all else, lying to her.

She saw anger and hurt flash in Ali's eyes a second before she felt Ali's hand slap across her face. Ashlyn knew that was coming. She would never talk to Ali that way, let alone any girl, but she didn't know what had come over herself. 

But right now, her anger was only amplified. She brought her hand gingerly to her own cheek. She was about to lose it completely.

"Get out of my house." Ashlyn said through clenched teeth.

"Gladly." Ali replied in her face, trying to be tough but her voice was becoming shaky.

She would never slap Ashlyn, her best friend, or anyone for that matter but what she said was so offensive and untrue, Ali didn't know what came over her. And she didn't feel bad about it either.

She reached for the door handle but decided she wanted to add her final words.

"And in case you can't tell by the hand print I just left on your cheek, let me make it perfectly clear... my answer... is no." She said with so much animosity she couldn't take it back.

Ashlyn didn't even look up. After all, she thought that was the answer all along. She kept her head to the side, looking down.

She waited for Ali to leave. But when Ali opened the door, there was one more surprise to be had...

Erin.

Standing there with two cups of coffee, about to knock on the door, a surprised look on her face. When she saw Ali's expression, she was well aware she just walked into something she did not want to be a part of... but it was too late.

Ali stared at her for a moment. She could not believe what she was seeing. She looked back to Ashlyn whose eyes were still on the ground, and then to Erin one more time.

"Well isn't this fan-fucking-tastic?!" Ali exclaimed sarcastically and threw her arms in the air.

She wasn't sure why her emotions hit her right then but they did. She assumed something happened between them that night but she hoped it was only a one time thing. Now, here she was, bringing Ashlyn coffee. It made Ali's next statement that much harder to choke out.

"She's all yours..." Ali mumbled and held back tears as she hurried up the walkway and jogged out of sight.

She didn't know how she was going to get home but she knew for sure she wasn't going to stay there a second longer.

"Go after her..." Erin glared at Ashlyn, wondering why she wasn't trying to fix this. Granted she didn't know everything that just transpired.

"There's nothing to go after anymore." Ashlyn whispered sadly, just barely hanging onto her sanity as she slowly shuffled further into the house.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bad case of misunderstanding. Frustration aside- how is this going? A few more chapters to go.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> warning of... heart-break?

"She lied about it?" Kelley asked, surprise apparent in her voice.

"Yep." Ashlyn was still gritting her teeth.

Erin sat there listening to Ashlyn repeat the story a second time. She only caught the end of the situation when she walked in, but something in her gut wanted to believe Ali. She didn't know why.

"But we saw the car too..." Kelley thought back on that night and wondered why Ali would flat-out lie.

"Yep." Ashlyn replied in the same tone.

"Do you want me to come over?" Kelley asked.

Ashlyn looked to Erin before re-focusing on the call.

"Want to meet Erin and me for lunch in town?" She asked.

Erin needlessly nodded along happily. Hoping Kelley would agree on the other line. She liked hanging with the girls when she was home and had the chance. Since she was leaving the next day, now was the time.

"Alright, cool." Ashlyn said and hung up. "She'll meet us there in an hour." She informed and heavily sat down on the couch.

Erin knew the Ali thing wasn't far from her mind. It would be good to have Kelley there too. She could sometimes be the unexpected voice of reason for Ashlyn.

...

"She lied to you?" Liz asked incredulously.

"Like it was nothing." Ali said as she wiped her tears.

"Did you call her on it?" Erin pushed.

"No." Ali sniffled. "But I might have... smacked her in the face."

Ali cowered when she said it. She knew she shouldn't have done that and now she really regretted it. She knew Liz would not be a fan of it either.

Liz just stared at her from the driver seat.

Ali didn't mean what she said when she told her the answer was no either. But she was too mad and too stubborn to go back on that now. She also made sure to leave that part out when she told Liz the story.

"Ali... Liz warned with a disappointed tone.

"I know." Ali said and started crying again. "I still love her, Liz. And it hurts." She sobbed.

"I know, kiddo." Liz replied sadly as she pulled Ali into a hug over the center console.

...

A couple days had gone by. Erin was gone. Liz went home. Both Ashlyn and Ali had become pretty anti-social, afraid to run into each other or have to explain the other's absence to one of their friends.

Ashlyn stayed home. Ali stayed in bed.

And no matter what Kelley said- she couldn't get either one to talk to the other.

She did not dare bring up the white car question to Ali. She had already been pretty hard on her.

Had she known Ali didn't believe Ashlyn about the Erin thing though- she would have definitely vouched for that. It would have cleared up a lot.

...

"Hey, Ashlyn." David stopped her on her way out one day.

"Hey, Dave. What's up?" She put on her best smile for the world.

"Not a lot. We have an event at the winery this Friday night. You should come by with some of your friends- should be a lot of fun." He grinned proudly.

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll do that. Let me know if you need any help setting up before-hand. I'm off Friday." She offered.

"Sounds good. Thanks." He tapped the side of her car and made his way back toward the house.

"Dave..." Ash asked cautiously. Nervous even.

"Yea?" He turned back to face her.

"About my lease..."

...

A week later, Ali left Ashlyn a drunk-dial voicemail.

It was apparent she had way too many to drink. Ashlyn couldn't make out half the things she said but what she did make out was (a slurred version of): I didn't mean to smack you in the face. I made a mistake. This whole "space" thing was a mistake. I'll call you tomorrow.

Unfortunately for Ali, she didn't remember leaving the message.

Ashlyn received no call the next day. That was the final straw for Ashlyn.

She had already made her decision a week ago but this really proved it. She had to move on so Ali could too. All she wanted was for Ali to be happy and she didn't think that was possible with her around. She had to let her go.

...

Pinoe had flown into town for the weekend and was staying with Kelley. The two were walking through town after Kelley picked her up from the airport.

She was surprised to only see Kelley standing at the baggage claim. Usually it was all three of them waiting for her but she thought nothing of it.

As they walked through town though, Pinoe, still oblivious to the situation, asked if they would see "the love-bugs" before the party tonight.

"Uh, well... we won't see Ash until the party." Kelley fumbled for words. "And um... well Ali..."

"Hey guys." A familiar voice interrupted.

Kelley's eyes darted up immediately.

"Hey... Ali." She gulped. Ali's ears must have been ringing.

"I didn't know you were in town." She looked to Pinoe and gave her a warm hug. A little confused why no one told her but she brushed it off.

Ali hadn't left her house in days. She decided today was the end of that and forced herself to go for a walk. She ended up in town and grabbed a coffee. She was just about to go home when she ran into her friends.

"Yea..." Pinoe gave her a weird look. "For the party." She said, figuring Ali would know what she was talking about.

Kelley tried to think of a way to change the subject but there was no chance of doing it without being obvious.

Ali knew nothing of a party and she realized Pinoe had not yet been filled in on that. She decided not to let it show.

"Oh, cool." She replied, pretending to know what she was talking about.

Kelley relaxed a little at the indication the topic would be dropped.

Pinoe picked up on the awkward silence and tried to fill it.

"So... tonight." Pinoe continued. Oblivious to Kelley who was now frantically waving her off in the background. "Do you want to carpool?"

"Carpool where?" Ali forced a chuckle. As far as she knew, she was not invited to whatever party it was they were going to.

"Ash's going away party...?" Pinoe replied with scrunched brows, unsure how Ali could forget something like that.

And then, when the smile rapidly drained from Ali's face, Pinoe realized... this was the first time Ali heard of it.

"What?" Ali asked, barely a whisper.

Pinoe's eyes darted to Kelley who now had her palm across her forehead in defeat. She should have known this wouldn't work out in the long run. Ali was bound to find out eventually. _Damn Ashlyn and her stubborn plan._

Ali followed Pinoe's gaze after a moment and slowly let it land on Kelley.

"You knew?" She asked quietly but accusingly- mostly out of hurt.

Kelley didn't need to respond. Ali already knew the answer.

"You didn't...?" Pinoe asked cautiously, quietly.

She was totally out of the loop. But then again, it seemed so was Ali. 

...

"Ash, call me back ASAP! Ali knows. I think she's on her way to your place!" Kelley left another message as she paced back and forth on the sidewalk.

Ali hadn't waited for an explanation when she found out Ash was leaving. She simply stood there with a blank stare for a while before she backed away from them, tears in her eyes, and started running.

Pinoe had just got back from unsuccessfully chasing her down.

"What the fuck was that?!" Pinoe bit out. "What's going on that I don't know about?"

"They broke up." Kelley looked at her angrily, even though it wasn't her fault.

"What?!" Pinoe couldn't believe it. "But they're..." She trailed off sadly.

"Perfect for each other." Kelley finished for her and sighed heavily... "I know."

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry- the good is coming soon :) Bear with me friends!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was struggling with which way to go with this so it took me a bit longer than I intended. Anyway, here it is. Only one more chapter after this. Maybe two, if you're good :)

Since David was gone for the day, Ashlyn was showing the house to a young woman who was interested in renting. She was showing her bedroom and finishing up when there was a knock at the door.

She froze. 

The woman gave her a weird look when Ashlyn just stood there, staring at the stairs, not moving.

"You expecting someone?" The woman asked, breaking the silence.

"No..." Ashlyn replied quietly. She knew that knock though. "But I guess I should have been." She continued, mostly to herself.

The woman smiled and they made their way to the stairs to head down when Ali knocked again.

Ashlyn knew she was in trouble judging by the banging on the door and she knew there was no avoiding it. But before she could get down there to open it, Ali let herself in.

"Ash! I know you're home!" She yelled so her presence was known.

But she didn't have to yell. Ashlyn was right there, coming down from her room, followed by a tall, pretty woman with a smile on her face.

Ali felt her stomach lurch. _Are you serious right now?_ She wanted to yell but she didn't. She just stood there gap-jawed until Ashlyn caught on to what she must be thinking.

"Oh..." Ashlyn had about two seconds to explain. 'Its not what you- we're not-"

"I was looking at the house... to rent." The woman interrupted, figuring it was easier just to explain for her. There was obviously some tension between the two and Ashlyn was seemingly having trouble finding words.

Ashlyn was hoping to avoid the moving-out detail since she hadn't told Ali yet. Little did she know someone else already slipped.

Ali just stood there and stared at her silently.

"I'll um... let myself out." The woman said and snuck past the two.

Ashlyn tried to apologize to her but no words came out. She hoped she didn't just ruin an opportunity for David to find a new renter.

She shifted her attention back to Ali. She didn't know whether to be mad at her or scared of what she was about to say right now. She figured it was the latter, considering Ali just found out she was moving from a random stranger. She waited for Ali to begin.

But Ali just threw her arms up in frustration and walked into the house.

Ashlyn closed the front door and followed slowly behind. This was not going to be fun. Ali was obviously very angry. The fact alone that she showed up here, unannounced after not speaking to Ashlyn since the incident, proved exactly how mad she was. Ashlyn still didn't know why. For all she knew, Ali _just_ found out about the move.

Ali walked straight to the sliding patio doors and stopped. Staring out the window into the woods. It was a cloudy day and it looked like it might rain but the sky was still bright for now.

Ashlyn waited in silence as long as she could.

"Al..." She said softly, preparing herself for a strong back-lash and some yelling.

"Why?" Ali asked, her voice shaking as she kept her eyes trained on the woods.

She wasn't shaking with anger- it was hurt, and Ashlyn noticed immediately. She softened up a bit when she realized Ali likely wasn't there to scream at her.

"Hey..." Ashlyn said soothingly when she noticed Ali was crying. She stepped forward and put her hand on Ali's upper arm but Ali pulled away.

 _I deserved that._ Ashlyn thought, wondering how she would react if the tables were turned.

"Why, Ashlyn?!" Ali asked again, with more urgency this time, as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

She still didn't face Ashlyn.

"Honestly?" Ashlyn asked defeatedly. Now she was getting emotional too.

"Yea." Ali choked out.

Ashlyn took a deep breath. She could feel her lip quivering before she even spoke.

"Because... you're all I want. And you don't want me." Her voice shaking so bad as she held back tears as best she could. 

But she couldn't hide anything from Ali. With tears streaming down her face, Ali slowly turned to face Ashlyn.

The second their eyes met, Ashlyn lost it. She looked down to her feet and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the tears drip to the floor.

"You honestly think that?" Ali asked sadly.

"I don't know." Ashlyn cried softly as her voice cracked. She felt completely defeated.

Ali's anger mostly disappeared when she realized the truth in Ashlyn's answer. Her heart broke when she realized Ashlyn really believed that Ali didn't want her.

"Ash..." Ali started softly and took a step closer. "Ash, I love you." She said easily.

"I know." Ashlyn sniffled. 

"So why would you think I don't want you?" Ali asked. She really had no idea Ash felt this way.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ashlyn didn't know what part Ali didn't get. "I asked you to be my girlfriend and you had to think about it. I saw someone else's car at your house and you lied about it. You accused me of... I don't even know... _something_ with Erin, who, by the way, is engaged!"

She let that last part settle for a second before continuing. Her tone changed for the next part- it was more hurt than anger.

"I'm pretty sure you used me for sex the other night. Then... you smacked me in the face-"

"You called me a slut!" Ali argued her point but Ashlyn just went on. She already knew she was wrong in calling Ali that.

"You told me... flat out... your answer was no. So, what am I supposed to think, Alex?" The look in her eyes was pleading.

Ali didn't have a response for that. She knew it was wrong but in the moment- she couldn't stop herself. She regretted it soon after but still did nothing about it.

Ashlyn saw the lack of response as exactly that. She threw her hands up in the air and moved to walk away.

"No. Wait." Ali stopped her by grabbing her elbow. "We need to talk about this, Ash."

They both knew it was true. They weren't getting anywhere doing what they were doing now. They weren't getting anywhere by accusing and avoiding each other. They had to talk.

Ali took a deep breath and moved to sit on the couch. She waited for Ashlyn to follow. It took some time, but eventually she joined.

"Okay..." Ali said in a voice that indicated she was about to set things straight.

They were both sitting up tall in their spots. Not relaxed at all as they danced on the edge of completely ruining their entire friendship and relationship.

"First, I didn't use you for sex. I wanted you and I drank too much and I couldn't stop myself. I have no self control when it comes to you."

Ashlyn nodded as she looked at her hands.

"Second, ummm the Erin thing is my bad and I'm sorry. I should have trusted you." She sucked it up and apologized.

Ashlyn nodded again. A little more confident this time.

"But Ash, that car was not at my house. I didn't have anyone over except for Liz and my mom..." She trailed off.

Ali suddenly put two and two together in her head as she slowly looked toward Ashlyn with a dropped jaw.

"My mom!" She exclaimed with a smile.

Ashlyn just gave her a weird look and leaned back, confused as to why Ali was so excited about this.

"Ash, my mom rented a car when she came to visit." Ali explained, sort of.

But Ashlyn just stared at her, still in the dark.

"That's the car you saw in my driveway. The night I went out with Kell and them, right? And it was white... I think. Hang on..." She reached for her phone to text her mom but Ashlyn stopped her.

"I believe you." Ashlyn said as she placed a hand on Ali's wrist.

She didn't need any proof. Ali had never lied to her before so why would she start now? She vaguely remembered Ali mentioning her mom planning a visit a month ago. She knew she should have believed her the first time.

"Okay." Ali replied softly, noting Ashlyn's hand resting on her arm.

The mood had lightened a bit and both girls relaxed some.

"And I guess now is a good time to tell you... I came out to my family." Ali added nonchalantly.

"You what?" Ashlyn's eyes darted to hers.

"Yea..." Ali nodded.

"Why?" Ashlyn asked incredulously.

As far as she knew, Ali only had plans to tell Kyle . She was totally surprised by this. It wasn't a big deal to Ashlyn if Ali came out or not. As long as she had Ali, that was all that mattered.

Ali gave her a look like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Because I want to be with you." She stated.

Ashlyn looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"Alex, I never asked you to come out to anyone. You didn't have to do that until you were ready. I would never expect you to do something like that unless it was your decision." She was concerned Ali thought she was pressuring her.

"But you asked me to be your girlfriend...?" Ali replied.

"Yea." Ashlyn scrunched her eyes. "Nothing else had to change." Ashlyn explained.

Ali's jaw dropped as she thought back on her misunderstanding. _Oh my god, I came out to them and I didn't have to?!_

Ashlyn watched as Ali seemed to have an inner monologue. She tried her best not to laugh because she knew what Ali was thinking.

"At least you got it over with." Ashlyn offered when it seemed Ali had calmed her nerves.

"Except... my mom already knew." Ali informed, suddenly remembering how well it went and how she was glad she did it.

Ashlyn's need to laugh was gone. It was now her turn to drop her jaw.

"She what?!" Ash asked nervously.

"Yea." Ali commiserated with the shock. "And Kyle too." She added.

"Well, yea. Kyle definitely knew." Ashlyn always thought he was on to her, but it now seems he was on to the both of them. "But your mom!?!" Ashlyn repeated her concern.

"Yep. She said she knew from the first time I introduced you."

"We weren't dating then..." Ashlyn pointed out.

"That's what I said." Ali allowed herself a small smile. "She said 'you coulda fooled me'..."

Ashlyn thought back on the first time she met Debbie. It was a long while before her and Ali took things to the next level. But it certainly wasn't before either of them had the thoughts to do so.

She smiled when she remembered what stage of their relationship it was during...

"What?" Ali pressed.

"Nothing. Just..." She bit her lip. "You were smitten back then."

"I was not!" Ali protested, though she knew she likely was without realizing.

"Oh, you were." Ashlyn tried not to laugh. She was astonished that Ali still didn't think she was, all this time later.

The mood had changed dramatically and both girls were holding back smiles.

"You were totally crushing on me. Even I knew it. But if you disagree... then that's fine." Ashlyn's eyebrow raised in anticipation of the response.

Ali tried to keep a straight face but she was totally caught. The redness in her cheeks is really what gave it away.

"You knew?" She asked quietly. A little embarrassed about how transparent she was. _Even before I knew?_

"Yea." Ashlyn offered a shrug.

"Then why'd you take so long to-"

"Make a move?" Ashlyn finished her sentence. "Because I wanted to make sure you knew it too." She answered honestly.

She never wanted to pressure Ali into anything, be it crossing the friendship line or coming out. She just wanted Ali to be happy because...

"I love you, Ali." She said in an innocent voice. It was the easiest thing in her life- loving Ali.

It wasn't news to either of them. They first confessed their love for each other some time ago and many times since. But it held more importance right now.

"I know." Ali replied. The same as Ashlyn before.

They shared a gaze for a moment before Ashlyn let out a sigh and sat back against the couch.

"What're we doing?" She asked after exhaling.

"I... don't know." Ali replied and then sighed.

She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her chin on the top of them and looking to Ashlyn to let her speak her piece. She was finally all ears.

"If we're going to be more than friends, I can't settle for you being anything less than my girlfriend. I'm beyond that point. I need all of you or we need to end it now." She knew it wasn't fair to say, but it was true.

"I want to be your girlfriend." Ali said without hesitation.

"And we've already crossed the- ...wait, what?" Ashlyn circled back to what Ali just said.

"I... want to be your girlfriend." She repeated like it was the easiest thing in the world. "I wanted to the whole time. I guess... I think this turned into one giant misunderstanding... on both our parts."

"Yea." Ashlyn mumbled. "It snow-balled like crazy."

They sat in silence for a moment until both girls gathered the strength to look up at each other. Both couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"Remind me again- why didn't we talk this out from the beginning?" Ashlyn asked.

"Because I'm stubborn." Ali mumbled. 

"Me too." Ashlyn reluctantly agreed and then remembered something. "Um... and I'm sorry I basically called you a slut."

"It's okay." Ali replied slowly. It still stung a bit.

"No, its not okay." Ashlyn pointed out. "Its really really not okay. I didn't mean it- I was just mad."

"I'm sorry I slapped you." Ali added her apology with a cringe. She still felt pretty bad.

"Yeaaa... I deserved that one." Ashlyn replied.

"No, you didn-"

"I did." Ashlyn interrupted quickly, accepting the blame for this one. "I'm really sorry. I'm still mad at myself for calling you that. No one should talk to you that way."

"Ash..." Ali scoffed. "I know you didn't mean it. Its fine, okay?"

Ali placed her hand on Ashlyn's thigh to reassure her and they both stared at it after a moment.

"Where do we go from here?" Ashlyn asked seriously.

Ali thought back on why she came over in the first place.

"I guess that depends on where _you're_ going..." She looked into Ashlyn eyes and hoped there was still a chance to make things right.

...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it right here...
> 
> PS- Sorry it took forever. Same with my other stories. Had a weird few weeks- still weird but I'm trying to get back into writing this stuff. Bear with me.
> 
> The order of my upcoming updates should be... Believe It or Not, Summer Fling, The Other Side, Let Me Try This, Flashback, How We Get Along, etc with some one-shots in there too (added to Moments and Friends).
> 
> So, stay tuned. Keep me motivated with comments!

"I should have told you." Ashlyn admitted regretfully.

"You should have." Ali concurred. She almost forgot her reason for being here. "You're really moving?" She asked sadly.

"That's the plan." Ashlyn didn't sound too convinced. 

"Where are you going?" Ali didn't want to know the answer.

"Uh... I didn't get that far yet." Ashlyn admitted. She knew it was stupid before but saying it out loud made it seem worse. "I was just going to go home until I figured it out."

"To Florida?" Ali pressed and Ashlyn nodded. "Across the whole country, Ashlyn?"

"Yea." Ashlyn trailed off, realizing it was a pretty long distance.

There was silence for a moment and then...

"Were you going to say goodbye?" Ali asked in a whisper.

Ashlyn took a deep breath before answering. 

"No." She replied. She felt guilty now but when she made these decisions she was under the impression it was her only choice.

"Do you still want to leave?" Ali asked, hoping the answer was no.

"Do you want me to stay?" Ashlyn responded to her question with one of her own.

Ali looked her in the eye. She looked unsure and scared. Ali was done with the misunderstanding and taking things out of proportion. She responded the only way she knew Ashlyn would take for exactly what its worth.

She kissed her. With everything she had.

...

After a few minutes of making out they broke apart for a breather. It was pretty obvious things were about to escalate and both girls knew they needed to take it a little slower right now.

"So... is that a yes?" Ashlyn teased, but she also needed to hear it for sure.

"That's a yes." Ali replied softly with her forehead still resting on Ashlyn's.

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend?" Ashlyn asked shyly.

"Maybe you should ask me to be." Ali teased without realizing what she mistakenly just brought back up.

Ashlyn realized it though. It still was too soon. It still stung to think about.

Ali must have noticed Ashlyn's apprehension because she slowly pulled back and studied her.

Ashlyn refused to meet her eyes and Ali quickly figured out exactly why. She wished she hadn't just said that. Now she felt really bad. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she tried to keep it together.

"I can't do it, Al..." Ashlyn said in a whisper. She sounded so defeated that Ali had to resist from scooping her in a hug and apologizing all over again.

"Actually..." Ali started softly as she compiled a plan in her head. "Ashlyn, will you go on a date with me tonight?"

If she was going to do this- she was going to do it right. Pull out all the stops and ask Ashlyn herself.

Ashlyn knew what Ali's intentions were. She decided to let them play out. She shyly nodded her head and said "okay" quietly. 

Ali put two fingers under Ashlyn's chin and tipped her head slightly.

When Ashlyn met her eyes, they were serious.

"It's going to be different this time." Ali assured her. "I got a glimpse of what life is like without you- its painful and lonely and not worth living."

Ali's eyes got a little teary but she powered through.

"I don't ever want to be without you again. I love you, Ash." She quickly engulfed Ashlyn in a hug.

"I love you too, Alex."

...

They held each other for a while. No words, no nothing, just being close to each other.

When they pulled apart, Ali brushed the hair from Ashlyn's face and tucked it behind her ear.

"So you'll cancel the party and come out with me tonight?" She asked again to make sure.

Ashlyn's eyes narrowed.

"What party?" Ashlyn asked. This was news to her.

"Your going away party?" Ali gave her a weird look.

Ashlyn chuckled. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But sure, yea, I'll cancel it."

 _Maybe it was a surprise._ Ali thought to herself. She would have to call Kelley once she left to make sure she canceled it.

"Never-mind." Ali waved it off, not wanting to get into it, just in case. "Can I pick you up at 7:00?" She asked.

Ashlyn let a smile escape the corner of her mouth and pull her lips into a grin.

"That sounds perfect." She nodded.

Ali leaned in to kiss her on the cheek before heading to leave.

"See you then." She smiled as she backed away, down the hall and out the door.

...

"Why is Ali asking me about a party?" Ashlyn later texted Kelley but would have to wait for an answer.

Kelley was on the phone with Ali at the same time. Trying to explain to her the same thing.

...

"What do you mean 'there is no party'?" Ali asked, her confusion level rising.

"I made it up." Kelley replied vaguely.

"Kelley..." Ali warned on the vagueness.

"Fine." Kelley gave in. "Ash told me not to say anything about her moving. So, I figured if _someone else_ slipped then I was still keeping my promise and helping out at the same time."

Kelley's explanation didn't make Ali feel much better. She continued though.

"My plan was to stop by your place with Pinoe and let her slip the information. The fact we ran into you was completely unplanned but definitely worked in my favor."

"I had nothing to do with this." Pinoe called from the background. "I really thought there was a party." She added, slightly bitter but also hopeful things were going according to Kelley's "plan".

"Not cool, Kell." Ali replied through clenched teeth.

"It worked, didn't it?" Kelley asked very matter-of-fact.

"We'll see tonight." Ali replied and hung up the phone.

She had to admit Kelley's plan definitely worked to get them talking. And to get Ashlyn from leaving, hopefully. But now the rest was up to Ali. She had to make tonight perfect.

...

There was a knock on the door right around 7:00. 

Ashlyn knew that knock. And for the first time in a while, she smiled when she heard it.

She opened the door to find a nicely dressed and perfectly made-up Ali, holding flowers in one hand and her purse in the other.

"Thanks." Ashlyn said shyly as she took the flowers from Ali and kissed her on the cheek.

"Let's put these in water and get going?" Ali suggested and they did just that.

"You know, no one's ever gotten me flowers before." Ashlyn said as she arranged them in a tall pitcher. "Its usually the other way around." She pointed out.

Ali pulled her closer by her wrist and whispered in her ear.

"I told you its going to be different this time." She reminded and then slowly pulled them both to the front door.

...

The date went as planned, and even though they both knew what it was leading to, both of them were extremely nervous.

 _How do people do this?"_ Ali wondered to herself as she tried to think of a good enough way to ask her. 

The date had wound down and they were sitting at the edge of a fountain in the park in the middle of town. Ashlyn was searching her pockets for pennies to throw into the water so they could each make a wish.

"Here." She handed Ali one and broke her out of her daze.

"Thanks." Ali smiled and stood with Ashlyn to face the water.

They both thought of a wish and threw their pennies into the water at the same time.

They stood staring at their rippling reflections in the water until it became still again.

"What was your wish?" Ashlyn asked with a grin, Ali could see it in her reflection.

"That I could think of the perfect timing to ask you to be my girlfriend." Ali admitted truthfully.

Ashlyn figured Ali was battling herself on how to do it most of the night. She seemed nervous and slightly distracted. Ashlyn thought it was cute.

"What did you wish for?" Ali asked after her confession.

"For you to freaking ask me already, jeeze." Ashlyn teased.

Ali chuckled to herself and looped her arm with Ashlyn's to pull closer. She knew she was over-thinking it. As usual.

"I'm sorryyyyy." Ali laughed. "I've never done this before." She whined.

Ashlyn kissed the top of her head and exhaled deeply.

"Alex..." She started.

"Yea?" Ali mumbled from her spot, tucked into Ashlyn's arm, working up the guts to ask her.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Ashlyn put herself out there again.

She's not sure why she did it. Her first attempt at the same question was horrible. Even talking about it earlier stirred up negative emotions and brought back heartbreak. But here she was again, with her heart on her sleeve, waiting for Ali to respond.

Ali looked to her, surprised she took the reigns again and took such a risk after what happened last time. She looked directly into Ashlyn's eyes and saw the uncertainty. She wanted to make her certain from here on out.

"Yes. Of course." She pulled into Ashlyn and hugged her until she felt her finally relax. "That should have been my answer the first time." She mumbled softly, but happily, into Ashlyn's chest.


End file.
